If She Finds Out (Don't You Mean When)
by deeeliciousink
Summary: Weeks after Uma's defeat and disappearance all the VK's on Evie's list have been moved to Auradon. Harry and Gil are left behind, lost without their Captain until one night she sends them a message in a bottle revealing that she's got plans. Plans that include the daughter of Hades.
1. Message in a Bottle

Ch.1

Gil probably looked and sounded foolish more than he usually did, only this time it was because he was talking to the sea. He didn't care.

It was late and no one was looking for him. Many nights had already passed that he spent alone, outside on the docks. When he first found himself out there he had been a bumbling mess. Every drifting strand of seaweed was one of Uma's aqua blue braids. Every shimmery reflection of the moon was the glimmer of Uma's necklace. He had been so sure Uma would return to them at least, Queen of Auradon or not. Gil didn't care if she had failed just so long as she came home.

Over the sound of water gently lapping at the shore, he could faintly make out the distant noise of his crew biding their time on Uma's stranded ship the _Lost Revenge_. The buzz was familiar and comforting to the boy; it gave him the reassurance that it couldn't hurt to try. Which was why he was here, on the docks, alone, every night since the king's disastrous cotillion.

"So it's been awhile since you got through the barrier and spelled King Ben," he began inelegantly. The fact that her crew hadn't heard anything from her since then went unspoken by Gil. "But you already, um, knew that."

He wrung his hands nervously as he stared down into the murky waters. Not off to a great start, he plowed on nonetheless.

"Your mom is still really mad that you aren't on the Isle anymore. She's kind of," he hesitated before the words slipped out in a single breath against his will, "thelaughingstockoftheIsle."

He braced himself for a blow, assuming that such a remark to his Captain would result in physical punishment. It never came.

He breathed a quiet sigh of relief before he continued on happily.

"The crew hasn't been back to the Chip Shop since. Harry still has the crew working on the ship, keeping it sea worthy for you," he mentioned pleasantly until he winced at his obvious blunder. "Well, I mean, it's still ship wrecked but…it's livable I guess? Harry is still crashing there every night and his family haven't been by yet so…" he trailed off.

"I'm worried about Harry," he admitted quietly. "I think he's getting worse. He's picking fights with everyone, even the crew. I hear them sometimes, talking about him behind his back like they aren't afraid of what he could do to them if he knew. Don't worry, though," he rushed out, "I reminded them who's in charge. They won't bother him anymore." He grinned proudly at that, brandishing his meaty fists in a boxer's pose.

His grin slowly faded the longer he stared out into the open sea, the inky backdrop to an even darker sky. He dropped his muscular arms to his sides.

"All Harry does now is rant about all those traitors who were invited to "Bore-adon". He doesn't even steal from the shops anymore so I've been doing it for him." He flashed a quick grin, pleased once again that he could say how helpful he was able to be lately. He liked being useful for a change. It was a big step up from being his usual oafishness that often landed him on the steps outside the Chip Shop. How he longed more than ever the praise from his Captain instead of her dismissal.

Still, his grin once again faded. Despite all he had spoken to the sea, the sea had yet to speak back.

"We need you Uma. We hope you haven't forgotten about us and that you're okay."

He shuffled his boots awkwardly. Usually at this point in the evening he would leave. The pleasant waves and buzz of activity from the shipyard were no longer comforting. If anything the sounds were distracting. There was only one thing he wanted to listen to and that was the cool and confident voice of his captain telling him not to worry so much, that she had a plan.

So he waited out there on the rickety dock, fidgeting in the same solitary spot as the sea air brought in colder tides. Refusing to turn away from a little cold air, he strained to hear something. Anything.

There was nothing.

Gil began to accept that this night was just like the last, and the one before that. Wherever, whatever, Uma was doing, she wasn't ready to let him in on it yet. Disheartened by the thought, Gil finally decided to call it a night and head back to the _Lost Revenge_. Turning away from the sea, he shook his head. The red in his cheek now wasn't just from the cold, but also embarrassment, perhaps even shame. Yet again he was returning to Harry empty handed; without the one thing the young pirate needed most. Maybe he was just wasting precious time talking to sea when he could be at Harry's side, keeping him from completely going off the deep end. Uma would be so disappointed in him, he thought to himself. He didn't deserve to be a part of their crew, another mean voice in his head told him.

He reached the end of the dock when he heard it; glass clinking against a bunch of rocks. Curious, Gil peered over the dock's edge. There, he spotted a tall, slim glass bottle washed up against the rocky shore. He almost walked away, disregarding it as nothing at all until he realized the bottle wasn't empty as he had first assumed. Inside was a rolled up paper scroll.

Delighted by the development, Gil agilely leapt down from the wood planks and landed heavily onto the slippery pebbles below. Any pirate worth his salt recognizes a message in a bottle when they saw one.

The now uncorked bottle at his feet, he read the slightly damp parchment. He may not have understood a whole lot of what the message was about, what he did garner from it that he was seeing a set of instructions; orders really. His eyes lit up when he saw the signature at the bottom.

He snatched the bottle from the shore and ran for the _ship_ , clutching the letter to his broad chest. "Harry is not going to believe this!" he exclaimed, his voice carrying out to the churning sea.

Harry stared on at his restless crew with disdain. Leaning, slumping against to be honest, the _Lost Revenge's_ railing was the only thing holding him up. The rum bottle he had swiped from his father's stash now empty lay shattered on the dock by his boots in a hundred pieces. The drink had kept him warm against the cold, but his rising temper was quickly catching up. Here he was simply trying to get out of his chaotic head for a little teensy while and his crew was laughing riotously and just having a grand 'ol time without Uma to keep them in line. The frivolous sight drove him mad.

He pushed off the railing and staggered towards the raucous young villains. Using his gleaming hook to catch the collar on the nearest kid, he held them immobile.

"Didn' I tell ye wharf rats to pull that gangway from the water- whattimeisit-" he muttered the last part to himself and pulled his faux silver time piece from his jacket pocket and squinted at the watches face- "nearly four hours ago?"

It was almost impossible for anyone who wasn't part of the crew to understand Harry's slurred speech made only a thousand times less understandable by his strong lilting accent. The crew went silent, freezing where they stood. In the weeks following the Captain's play at the king they had learned just how easily the first mate could lose his cool. None of them were willing to tell him that he had actually ordered them to return the gangway Mal had knocked into the water days ago. While Harry had never been great at telling time, he seemed to be losing more and more of it than ever before.

"We just don't have enough people, Captain," someone piped up, much to the horror of the others.

The poor sap on Harry's hook scrambled away as soon as Harry released him. Harry singled out the kid to speak up with those pale blue eyes of his. The raven haired pirate stepped in front of the unfortunate soul who trembled before him.

"What did ya call me?" Harry ground out slowly.

The kid's legs almost gave out right then and he looked to the other crew members for help. "Well, I mean, uh," he mumbled, "since Uma is gone doesn't that mean you're, um, the Captain?"

He shrank in on himself as Harry towered over him shaking with rage. For a short moment, Harry closed his eyes to collect himself and when he opened them again he was deadly still. It did not go unnoticed how his hand was resting on the hilt of his sword.

He tilted his head back so he was looking down his nose at the young villain. The kid squeaked when Harry lifted his hook in one swift movement. The metal caught the light of their lanterns the way he had practiced in order to complement the crazed gleam of his eye, striking instant terror in the crew who had recently come to fear it.

"If anyone here truly believes that Uma has abandoned us for bluer harbors, they can _leave_ ," he growled.

The crew glanced at each other in confusion, unmoving.

Harry rotated in a circle, taking in the unsure villain kids clearly too scared to make the wrong move. The sorry sight set his teeth on edge. He was making a bloody ultimatum and all they could do was stare dumbly at one another! For weeks he had spent in an anguished mess while his so called crew already picked up the pieces and moved on. Moved on from their Captain's failure to free them. Didn't they still wonder where she was? When she was coming back? Because she was coming back; of that Harry was certain. _She wouldn't abandon us,_ he thought to himself numbly.

Pivoting on the spot, he threw his hand and hook out and screamed at the group, "GET OFF THIS SHIP. NONE O' YA ARE WELCOME HERE ANYMORE."

That jolted some life into the villain kids. They flowed around Harry as they all but ran for the gangway off the ship, ducking and diving to avoid the swing of his hook. The wood planks groaned under the strain of the sudden foot traffic.

"SHE IS COMING BACK, MARK ME WORDS," Harry shouted over the sound of their departure. _She didn't just leave us behind._

Meanwhile, Gil fought against the current of banished crew members as he made his way onto the ship. "What's going on guys? Where you going?" he tried to ask them.

They all avoided his eye and shouldered past him in the middle of the gangway.

"Gonzo? Bonny?" Gil spotted the two towards the back of the group.

Bonny just shook her head sadly at him and walked around him. Gonzo stopped and scowled at Gil. "Harry has completely lost it. He kicked us out of the crew. You're on your own, Gil."

With that he too walked away, leaving Gil to stare after them in confusion. He opened his mouth to call after them, only he had no clue what to say to bring them back. Suddenly remembering the glass bottle and the letter, he blinked. Crossing the gangway he saw Harry duck into the Captain's quarters and he rushed to follow him.

The rum soaked pirate flung himself into Uma's chair behind her wobbly desk. He had been avoiding these dark and cold quarters for weeks, too afraid his new Captain status might stick. For a split second all was quiet save for the comforting creaking of the ship. His solace was short lived when Gil came barging into the room. The first mate barely spared him a glance, fully prepared to send the bumbling fool away.

"What do ye want, Gil?" he sighed heavily.

Gil didn't even hesitate. He walked right up to the desk separating them and thrust out the empty bottle, holding it in front of Harry's face, grinning from ear to ear.

Harry eyed the bottle, unimpressed. His gaze flickered up to meet Gil's eager eyes. "Wha' am I supposed 'ta be looking at?"

The sandy haired boy blinked owlishly at him and then the empty bottle. "Oh!" He dropped the bottle with a sharp clank onto the desk letting it roll towards Harry as he reached into his jacket for the letter. Harry caught the rolling bottle with his hand and righted it when the other boy spread out a scroll of rolled up parchment on the desk. He raised a brow at him giving the grinning boy a droll look. Gil nodded his head enthusiastically at the parchment. Harry's blurry gaze flickered down to read the ink stained paper reluctantly. So Gil had found a message in a bottle. Good job Gil.

His reaction was instantaneous. As soon as Harry spotted Uma's signature he jolted up in his chair, eyes going impossibly wide. He ripped the parchment out of Gil's gloved grip and read the letter over once, twice, three times just to be sure. Uma's words sobered him up, cleared his skin, and restored two years of his life. Gil watched on in bemusement and could have sworn he saw actual tears well up in the first mate's eyes.

"Gil! Sink me! We got work to do!"

* * *

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author of this story. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No copyright infringement is intended and no profit is being made from this work.


	2. Unexpected Tidings

Ch. 2

Once upon a time there was a girl named Halimeda, or Hali to her friends if she had any. Hadie is her brother and together they are the children of Hades, lord of the Underworld.

She wasn't particularly close to her to either of her family members as she spent most of the year at Serpent Prep on the other side of the Isle and Hadie attended Dragon Hall. Regardless of the time and distance separating them, Hali didn't have much in common with her brother anyway. Hadie was younger than her by a few years. He was idealistic which was something that Hali was not. If there was one thing that Hali and Hadie had in common it was their father. The siblings' lifelong bond was forged by their father's fiery temper. While Hades didn't exactly go easy on his son, he reserved only his worst moments for his first born, though the siblings could never figure out why. Feeling sorry for her, Hadie did what he could to take the brunt of Hades harsh treatment. That made him a hero in his sister's eyes. She wasn't sure if that was a good thing.

All in all, Hali mostly kept to herself, that is, until sweet Gil paid a visit to Hades' Souvlaki.

The shop wasn't exactly bustling, meaning Hadie could probably handle serving what few customers they had on his own. Hali didn't have anything better to do, though, and was hovering near the entrance glaring daggers at anyone who was foolish enough to leave without paying.

Even though she had never done anything to back up her vile reputation, the residents of the Isle weren't about to mess with the god of death's daughter. It went unspoken but while there were some powerful villains on the Isle, there was only one God among them. Hence why a henchmen's kid was reluctantly forking over some cash into Hali's waiting hand. She smirked at the guy and nodded her assent that he was free to leave now which he eagerly did. Pocketing the money, she noticed a new customer enter, one she normally wouldn't pay much attention to except she also noticed how at the same time her brother tensed and all but leapt behind the counter. She was immediately on alert.

The broad shouldered individual sat down at a table near the entrance. His new presence didn't seem particularly threatening enough to warrant Hadie's strange reaction. In fact, he actually smiled at her and waved as if they were old friends.

Hali ignored him and hopped down from her crate and made her way to the counter. She could feel Gil's eyes on her as she weaved gracefully through the mismatched tables. While she was only a little confused by this, she didn't miss a step. Leaning over the blackened and slightly singed counter, she asked, "Should I be concerned about who just walked in?"

Hadie grimaced at her from where he was crouching on the floor, peeking over the countertop. "You mean you haven't heard?" He glanced at her quickly and took her lack of expression as answer enough. "Every shop Gil has gone to since Uma left, he's robbed!" he hissed at his sister.

Hali narrowed her eyes and glared over her shoulder at the boy in question, still sitting at his table smiling pleasantly at her. She scowled at him and was pleased when Gil seemed physically taken aback. He quickly averted his eyes and wilted.

"Don't worry little brother, I'll handle this."

"Be my guest," Hadie muttered before slinking into the kitchen.

Hali pushed off from the counter and sauntered towards Gil's table. The boy appeared less confident the closer she got as he squirmed in his chair. _Good_ , she thought.

His eyes flickered nervously between her and the grimy table. Yes he was nervous, but was also determined to do what, Hali wasn't certain. She sat down on the table's top, crossing her legs under her long black maxi-skirt. Tilting her head, she stared at him balefully.

"If you're here to shake down my brother for cash, you can forget it," she warned.

At that, Gil's eyes widened. He shook his head furiously and held his hands up in surrender. "No, no, that is not why I'm here. I come in peace, I swear."

Hali blinked at him. Despite not knowing Gil personally, she sensed that his response seemed genuine enough. And that was seriously throwing her off. He offered her a sheepish grin.

"Well, you're not here for the food," she retorted.

Gil lowered his hands to the table where he started to twiddle his thumbs. "Actually I, uh, wanted to invite you to a party."

Now it was Hali who was taken aback. "A…party?

He beamed at her. "Yup. It's tonight on the _Lost Revenge_ ," he added.

Something was truly wrong here. She didn't get invited to parties. People didn't talk to her if they could avoid it. And she certainly didn't run in the same circles as Uma's crew.

Gil was watching her hopefully. "Will you come? It's at nine."

She studied him closely trying to glean a darker intention behind his puppy dog eyes. She struggled. The very sight of this boy was completely disarming. Had her brother really heard that he was scaring money out of people. Or maybe Gil just smiled at them the way he was smiling at her and they floated the paper bills his way only too willingly.

"Why would you invite me of all people?" she asked curiously.

Gil rested his strong jaw on a fist and continued to beam at her. "Harry Hook wanted me to invite you."

Hali stiffened.

There was no way she had heard him correctly. A bright red blush crept up her neck and stained her cheeks. Flustered, she looked away from Gil's cheerful expression, fixing her gaze on the kitchen doors where she spotted Hadie through the window mouthing something that she guessed was "what the hell". She tossed her long auburn ponytail over her shoulder and ignored her brother's frantic gestures.

Collecting herself, she willed her blush to fade. Dear gods, her heart was beating so fast!

"He did, did he?" She glanced at Gil out of the corner of her eye. "Is there a reason he didn't he ask me himself, then?"

Gil was ready for this question, however. Harry had meticulously rehearsed his answer for what felt like hours until he had it completely memorized by heart. "He wanted to give you the chance to let him down easy in case you say no."

 _Damnation, that's a good answer,_ Hali thought.

Suddenly, she hopped off the table and clasped her hands behind her back. Gil watched her hopefully as she considered him thoughtfully. She was proud of herself for not jumping the gun and blurting out that YES she would very much love to go to a party with Harry Hook! But she still had a reputation to uphold.

"Tell Harry," A thrill ran through her just from saying his name aloud, "that I will think about it."

When Gil relayed her cryptic reply to Harry, the first mate would laugh hysterically and simultaneously feel like he was having a heart attack from the sheer stress of the situation. Gil would chuckle along with him, though he wasn't quite sure why they were laughing to begin with.

Hali was arguing with herself ever since Gil left the shop. She weighed her choices carefully. Yes she wanted nothing more than to go to a party with Harry Hook whose devil-may-care good looks sent her heart racing. But she wasn't Cinderella. And he was no Prince Charming. The invitation could be a trick. Weren't they always? She wasn't so naive to believe otherwise.

 _What are you doing? This is a bad idea and you know it,_ a voice sounding suspiciously like her brother scolded her in her mind.

"Shut up Hadie. Whatever happens, I can handle it," she mumbled under her breath.

After many clandestine visits to the shipyard in hopes of catching a glimpse of mad Captain Hook's only son who possessed the most alluring eyes, she was fairly familiar with the area. She believed that right up until she stood in the shipyard, eyeing the gangway onto the _Lost Revenge._ At this point she had even got used to the stench of rotting fish that permeated the air around the wharf. The ship was deadly quiet, not a soul in sight. The only lanterns to be lit were not on the ship, but scattered around the shipyard.

Perhaps too late is when the warning bells started going off in her head. Of course the invitation was too good to be true. This was all a trick to get her hopes up and lure her out of her comfort zone just to be humiliated in front of all the villain kids.

She glared at the shipwrecked vessel waited for the pirates to jump out and laugh at her.

The worst part about this entire situation, though, is that she had known better than to trust a pirate.

This was why she didn't bother with other people; why she didn't trust them. Figures all she had to hear was Harry Hook's name and she lost all her common sense. This was why she was better off alone, where she was less likely to get hurt. She shook her head to dispel the condescending tones of her father telling her everyone was just going to leave her in the end. She didn't want to believe him, tried to forget the look in his eye like he knew something she didn't, but it was in times like these that she couldn't shake off the words.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, she spun on her heel and began to walk away.

"Someone's here early. Were ye that eager to see me?" someone spoke up behind her from the dark gangway.

Hali's eyes went comically wide. She would know that voice anywhere, which would mean Harry Hook was actually talking to her for the first time ever. A manic smile threatened to tear her face in half and only when she was sure she exuded calm did she turn to face him.

He stepped forward from the shadows, lifting his head as he entered the lantern's lights. They appraised each other unabashedly. He was decked out in his usual black, red, and leather pirate regalia. She was in her usual ancient Grecian inspired maxi dress, gladiator sandals, and cropped leather jacket. All in black of course. Each kid was a pale homage to their respective parent.

"Early?" she questioned, flushing slightly pink. "Gil said the party started at nine?"

Harry tilted his head, smirking at her. He should have known. After attending the same school all these years and growing up on the Isle, he had never once seen her at anything resembling a party. Halimeda Hades was the solitary sort who would never be caught dead at a social gathering. Harry had always just assumed she was a snob. How wrong he was.

"Don't ye know? Anybody who is anybody shows up fashionably late to a party," he told her.

Hali scrambled for an excuse. Reaching for her ponytail, she casually ran her black painted nails through the auburn strands. The gesture was meant to distract from her obvious distress.

"Right. No, I knew that," she lied. "I was just, uh, in the neighborhood and figured that I'd just drop by now."

He tilted his head back and gave her a playful smile that almost made her swoon. There was something about the way Harry Hook could look at a person with those impossibly hooded pale blue eyes of his that could send them reeling. They were Hali's favorite feature of his.

"I almost didn't think ye'd show up at all from what ye told Gil."

He had actually been terrified she wouldn't come. Not to mention, there was the chance that he had actually driven her further away which was why he'd specifically sent Gil to invite her because who could say no to a puppydog like Gil?

She placed a hand on her hip returned his playful expression. "Hard to believe anyone is going to show up if no one arrives in time," Hali teased.

Harry chuckled at that. "So she does have a sense of humor. This'll be fun. Why don't ye come onto the ship?" He threw his arm out with a sweeping gesture, pointing his hook towards the _Lost Revenge._

The tall girl seemed to hesitate as her eyes flickered to the dark ship. Clearly debating with herself, she bit her matte black lip. What if this was still a trick? If she boarded the ship would she come to regret it? Her reputation was the only thing keeping her safe, after all. Once that was blown away, the Isle would see her for what she really was. Fragile.

His silver blue eyes danced in the torchlight with anticipation and that was it. She decided to throw caution to the wind. Already she had spent the entire day in a surreal reality dwelling on Harry's invitation. Standing there at the beginning of the gangway onto Uma's ship and Harry Hook was inviting her into his life like a dream. If she had dreams.

When he held out his hand to lead her across the gangway onto the ship, she took it.


	3. Rum and A Vial of Potion

_Authors Note: I have no idea how to play "Never Have I Ever". Also warning for underage drinking._

* * *

Fashionably late came and went by the time Harry had lit a few lanterns and found a couple of small barrels for them to sit on, all the while whistling a sea shanty. At the same time, Hali shot glances at the gangway just waiting for a member of Uma's crew to appear. There wasn't a single wharf rat or pirate to be seen and she was growing increasingly suspicious that perhaps this entire night was indeed a trick. She didn't even see Gil anywhere and she thought that especially strange.

"Ye look nervous."

She snapped to attention, finding Harry watching her curiously. Oh great. Not even an hour into the party and she was already making a fool of herself. _Great job Hali. Way to keep up appearances._

"Something the matter?" he asked as he set two mugs and a bottle of rum on a crate between them.

She scrambled to appear nonchalant as she adjusted in her uncomfortable seat. Tossing her ponytail over her shoulder she lifted a brow and smirked at him. "I'd say the party is a bust. Nobody has shown up."

He cracked a grin as he filled up their mugs. "Or maybe ye'r the only one I invited."

She was going to have a heart attack. Resisting the urge to do a double take, she covered her mouth with a hand in fake astonishment. "If I didn't know any better I'd say this was a date."

"And if it is?" He held a mug out for her to take which she did so with a slightly trembling hand.

She carefully rested the mug on her knee, hoping Harry hadn't noticed. "Depends. What did you have in mind for this potential date?"

"Rum," he said simply, taking a hold of his brimming mug.

"Say again?" She glanced dumbly down into her equally brimming mug as if just now noticing it.

"Rum," he repeated patiently. "A pirate's best friend. I thought we could play a game of "Never Have I Ever" with said rum as a fun way to get to know each other a bit."

Hali didn't get out much and she definitely did not drink rum. Harry had probably grown up drinking the stuff. She suspected his tolerance far exceeded hers. Or at least it would if she wasn't a demigoddess. _Huh, this is probably the first time I'm actually grateful for my genes_ , she realized. "I feel like I'm at a disadvantage, Mr. Pirate," she admitted.

Harry placed his hook over his heart and bowed his head humbly. "Please. Mr. Pirate is my father." He peered at her through his dark lashes.

Butterflies fluttered in her stomach. "I'm going to pretend you did not just say that," she laughed.

"I'll go first. Never have I ever… been babysat by a pair of demons." He giggled gleefully as she took a begrudging sip. "And here I thought that was a just a rumor."

She scoffed. "I wish. Pain and Panic are not good with kids. So glad to be reminded of that time in my life, Harry."

He immediately picked up on the sad note in her voice with alarm. Not good! Sad was bad! Every kid on the isle had skeletons in their closets, most of them put there by their parents. Biting his tongue, he berated himself for purposefully pulling one of hers out to play with. If his captain was there, she'd be livid with how he was handling her scheme. He wasn't supposed to make Hali sad. She had to trust him if Uma's plan was going to work and if she was sad because of his misstep she was not likely to trust him to begin with.

Switching gears, he offered her his most genuine smile. "That was rude of me. Feel free to give me your worst."

With a practiced ease she fought back a wave of tears and glowered at him. A girl could get lost in hypnotic eyes like his. She noted that he had chosen to forego the dark kohl he sometimes wore around his eyes. He appeared tired without it to cover up his dark circles. The poor boy must have lost so many hours of sleep worrying about what happened to Uma. For all his careless smiles and pirate charm, she saw the complete and utter devotion he had for his captain that rounded him out. Hades' daughter didn't blame him. In her eyes, Uma was a wildly inspiring figure on the Isle. If only Uma would accept her, Hali would undoubtedly join her crew.

She decided to give the hook wielding boy a break. "I'll take you up on that. Hmm... Never have I ever...played pirate."

He barked out a laugh. "Who says I'm only playing?" He gestured around him at the _Lost Revenge's_ deck with a swing of his arms, causing his drink to partially spilling over the edge of his mug.

Her gaze followed the sweep of his arms, from the ship's complicated rigging to the curling tentacles of the octopus emblazoned on the sail looming over them. She raised a brow, unimpressed. A ship that couldn't sail was hardly doing these pirates any favors right now.

"So you're a pirate through and through even though you've never been to sea?" she teased.

"Someday I will, lass. Just ye wait," he told her seriously with a determined glint in his eyes that almost had Hali believing him. "Now I believe it is my turn. Never have I ever... got a tattoo."

There was a considered lying as she inspected the rim of her mug. Then she remembered that this was just a game and maybe she wanted Harry to know. Just because she was an introvert didn't mean she didn't occasionally go out and do things and she would be damned if the pirate thought otherwise.

He bared his teeth in a manic grin as she took a drink.

"My! Ye are full of surprises! Is it a winged horse? Three headed pug maybe?" The possibilities made his head spin. Or maybe that was the rum.

Hali slammed her mug down indignantly, offended by the idea that she would have a kitschy design inked on her skin forever. "I'll have you know-" she promptly stood up and deftly slipped her jacket off- "that it's an anatomically correct skeleton ribcage and spine."

Hali turned around revealed how her dress dipped in the back enough to show off the top part of her tattoo. Harry eyes dragged down the expertly shaded shoulder blades, the thick black lines of the spinal lumbars been them, and the top half of the curling ribcage. From the way the ink disappeared down the back of her dress, he could tell the design covered her entire back.

She glanced at him over her shoulder when he didn't say anything. Only when she saw the riveted expression on his face did she become hyper aware of just how low the back of her dress was and how far down her tattoo trailed. Harry's eyes flickered up to hers excitedly and she shivered. At that moment she was glad she decided to go on this date.

He also set his mug down.

Not one to be outdone, he jumped to his feet and threw off his jacket and shirt in one fluid movement. "That's nothing. I'll have you know that mine is far superior."

She took in the flowing expanse of black ink stretching across his shoulder blades with awe as she slid her jacket back on.

Maps. Harry had beautifully detailed treasure maps inked on his toned back. Even though she had already known about the tattoos on his back from the times she admired his swordsmanship training, on particularly hot days from a distance of course, she had never seen them this close up. Each map blended seamlessly and written in elegant calligraphy over each map was the name of two different lands. The Isle of the Lost and Neverland. Hali was entranced by the sight. Also, was he flexing right now?

She cleared her throat and sat back down. "Let's agree to disagree and get back to the game. Since you clearly do have tattoos you should take a drink as well."

He was grinning widely when he turned around.

 _Seven Hells, he is shredded!_ She desperately tried not to oogle at the glorious sight of the boy's tanned and toned abs. The demigoddess had no idea what to do with her eyes. Her face felt hot. If someone had asked her if she thought she would end up on a date with a shirtless Harry Hook, she would've told them to go see a doctor. Yet, here she was.

"Is that the rum warming ye'r cheeks or are you blushing? My eyes are up here, Hali."

She desperately wished for the earth to crack open beneath her and her soul to leave her body and finally descend into Hell. "Shut up and let me take my turn. Never have I ever enjoyed rum," she quipped, feeling light and floaty.

"Ye got me there, lass." He took his time putting his ragged shirt and patched jacket. She pretended not to notice. _Ugh. This boy could give Adonis a run for his money,_ she thought. When she motioned for him to take another drink, he giggled madly, causing her insides to melt.

He took a large swig and Hali's breath caught in her throat. _How can he seem even more attractive when he does something simple like taking a drink?_ She sighed softly when he delicately set his near empty mug down and dragged his seat closer to her.

She drew herself up straighter when they were knee to knee. Those butterflies in her stomach were in full cyclone mode the longer they held eye contact. She could spend an eternity gazing into his eyes.

"Never have I ever...taken a dreamless potion."

Was she drunker than she thought or had Harry really said those words? Hali panicked. There was no way he could know. No one was supposed to know that about that! When she first went to Yzma's daughter, she had made the girl swear never to tell another soul about it. If word ever got back to her father...

"H-how do you know about that?" she stuttered.

Harry shrugged even though her entire night was spinning out of control. "I have me ways, deary. What are ye trying to avoid in yer dreams, I wonder? Is it a certain godly family member perhaps?"

It was as though he could peer into her head and snag all her secrets onto his hook. She had to leave now before she gave too much away. The other shoe was dropping and stomping on her dreams that maybe Harry was interested in her too.

"I don't want to talk about this anymore," she said finally, setting her mug down and stood to leave.

He stood to intercept her beeline to the gangway. "What are you so afraid of, Hali?"

He blocked her vision and she reluctantly met his eye. _Damn those eyes_ , she thought. _And those cheekbones. And that jawline. And those full lips._ She shook her head before she fell down a rabbit hole and onto a pirate hook. "I'm not afraid," she told him unconvincingly.

She knew he didn't believe her. "Then why take the potion?" he laughed, tilting his head.

Hali was stubbornly silent.

"I can help you Hali. Trust me."

She wanted to trust him. She wanted to _want_ to trust him. But this was the Isle and she wasn't sure she knew how. "Trust you? Is this some kind of game to you?"

"Far from it," he told her honestly.

"Why did you really invite me here, Harry?" She sighed tiredly.

"Only want to help. I have it on good authority that Hades has been lying to ye for as long as ye've been alive. If ya want to know the truth; don't take the potion tonight."

A moment passed of pirate and demigoddess staring each other down. He was impressed by how she remained steadfastly tight lipped. Despite her stubborn silence, he could tell he had his hooks in her. Uma's plan was all falling into place.

Finally, the corner of Harry's mouth curved up and he blinked first. Hali spared him one last look before she stepped around him and made her way home.

On the long walk, she wondered to herself who Harry's "good authority" might be. It had to be Uma. Harry Hook was her right hand man after all. But that would mean Harry was still in contact with Ursula's daughter somehow, even though she hasn't been spotted on the Isle in weeks. If it was Uma, why was she so interested in her?

She had so many questions and no answers. Even if she marched down to the _Lost Revenge_ the next day, Harry wasn't likely to tell her anything without Uma's permission; Gil was only one thing left for her to do. If she followed Harry's advice and didn't take the dreamless potion tonight and confronted the invader of her dreams, then at least she could get one answer.

That night, the alcohol muddling her brain, she stared long and hard at the glass vial clutched in her hands. She was exhausted, probably seconds away from passing out entirely. Normally she would down the vial of awful tasting substance and succumb to sleep. Except, tonight, she was _tired_. Tired of not knowing why she was so afraid of a dream. She was tired of being the last person to know what she was afraid of. It ate at her that Harry Hook of all people knew, or at least suspected. Not even her brother knew about the potion or the dreams. Her father certainly didn't know and she would like if it stayed that way.

The tired girl had been taking the potion for so long now. Years had past since she had experienced a proper dream. Before reason could catch up with her, she tipped the vial over and watched its contents spill onto the already dirty floorboards. When it was empty, she let the vial slip from her fingers. The glass cracked on impact. Across the room, softly snoring in his bed, Hadie did not stir.

Hali's head hit her pillow next. Somehow the room felt a slightly foreign; different in an unrecognizable way. She blinked sleepily up at the dilapidated ceiling. The spidery fissures appeared as though they were reaching farther and farther across the space or maybe that was the spinning in her head.

Her eyelids drooped shut. The thought to get up and grab another vial from her stash didn't cross her mind once.


	4. The Truth

_I am so sorry, my beloved granddaughter. Please forgive them._

Hali awoke with a sudden gasp.

Her eyes snapped open as she lurched up in her small bed. The awful sinking feeling in her gut that had less to do with the rum from last night and more to do with the remnants of her dream followed her into wakefulness. Harsh light penetrated the ragged curtains covering the window over her bed and stung her retinas to hell and back, but she knew the tears welling up in her eyes had nothing to do with the light.

With a pained groan she dug the heels of her hands into her eyes. Her head pounded like the titans themselves were trying to escape their prison.

"Oh gods. Please don't let it be true."

She wanted to scream. She wanted to vomit. She wanted to cry.

" _This isn't happening_." The rawness of her voice echoed thunderously in her ears.

She covered her mouth with her hands to keep the screams in to no avail. Violent tremors shook her thin frame with each heaving breath that managed to somehow slip between the crevices of her trembling fingers. No, that wasn't quite right. Someone _else_ was shaking _her_.

Her eyes cracked open through shining tears to see a concerned Hadie staring back at her. In an instant, she threw her arms around him and she buried her face in his shoulder. The blue haired boy was startled by the action. He had been woken up by what sounded like a dying cat only to find his sister falling apart on the other side of their room. He had been trying to get her attention for a while until she finally noticed his presence. Something was definitely wrong if she was reacting like this.

"Hali? What is going on? Are you okay?"

He sounded frightened and confused. She knew exactly how he felt. Hadie stared wide eyed at her from where she held him in place at arm's length, completely lost with what she was doing.

"Hali what-" he started to say.

"Did you know?" she cried, interrupting him.

Hadie did not like watching how she furiously blinked back a fresh wave of tears. This was completely new territory concerning his sister and he hadn't the slightest idea how to navigate through it. "Know what?"

Tears temporarily abated, she fixed him with a stern look that pinned him helpless to the spot. "Hadie, please. Tell me the truth."

She was shaking him now, setting off warning bells in the younger boy's head. "Hali, you're freaking me out right now!" He wriggled out of her grasp and scooted back frantically. She didn't take her eyes off of him. Her blue eyed gaze was searching. Not finding any traces of play acting or deception, her arms fell limply at her sides.

"Are you telling me you don't know, then?" she demanded flatly.

"Know what? You're not making any sense."

Her shoulders became hunched as she bowed her head in defeat. The time finally came that she felt that the boy truly had no idea what she was talking about. Now, she realized that she had to be the one to tell him. "Oh, Hadie. There's-" her voice became strangled- "there's something I need to tell you. Something I haven't been completely honest about."

And so she told him everything about the dream. At the end of it, she probably should have assumed that this would happen, but she never could have predicted the way Hadie was now seeing her a little differently. She stared into his eyes and regretted ever opening her mouth. In that moment she felt a flare of hate for Hades, the one who had caused this new rift between siblings.

On the bright side, Hadie appeared thoughtful. She hoped that that was a good sign with the truth revealed, things between them weren't forever changed.

"Why didn't you tell me about the potion sooner?" he asked quietly.

She let out a frustrated sigh, trying to find the right words. Merely talking about the lengths she went to keep everything bottled up felt like unraveling her heart so it could be twisted into a tangled mess. She wrapped her arms around herself protectively. "I just didn't want to deal with it, Hadie. I wanted to pretend that nothing was… off. After a while I got used to it and it became this normal routine I had," she admitted.

Hadie resisted the urge to point out how obviously unhealthy the choices the other girl had made were. However, he still had a dozen pressing questions that forced their way past his lips. "What changed then? Why didn't you take the potion last night? I know it's none of my business where you go and what you do, but I was already asleep when you must have come home last night. Where did you go? I mean seriously, you never stay out late. Does this have anything to do with why Gil was in the restaurant yesterday?" He was breathless at the end of his last question.

Hali waited patiently for the boy to catch his breath. "Hadie?"

He blinked at her. "Yeah?"

"Chill. You're doing that thing where you ask a million questions all at once before I can answer. I was with Harry last night. I don't know how, but he knew about the potion and the dreams somehow."

There were those warning bells going off in his head again. "Wait. Harry? As in Harry Hook? Why the Hells were you with him?" He had known for some time the older girl harbored a tragic crush on the pirate since they started going to the same school and knew that no good would ever come of it.

She brushed his obvious panic off easily, only too used to his reaction whenever Harry was so much as mentioned in passing. "Look, it doesn't matter. What matters is what I'm going to do next."

"Uh, which is what exactly?" He braced himself for her answer.

"If I told you, you would try to stop me."

Hadie watched, perplexed by Hali's cryptic reply, as she rummaged under her bed and began to lace up her sandals. "Wait. Where are you going?"

Narrowly avoiding stepping into a pile of glass from the broken vial Hali had yet to clean up, he rushed to lace up his own sandals as Hali stood and stalked out of their bedroom. He ran after her with a huff, hoping against hope that she was not going to do what he thought she was.

Hali stormed out of their small, rundown apartment with a purposeful stride. Hadie could only imagine what was going through her head as he trailed behind her a few steps. Her entire world was just ripped apart and tossed in a broken blender for good measure. Now she was making a furious beeline through the mostly abandoned Isle streets for the god responsible. The younger boy prayed to any good deity listening for something to stop the older girl from frightening showdown sure to greet her at his father's shop.

Gil had just been doing his self appointed rounds collecting Harry's cut from each shop's profits on this side of the Isle when he spotted the demigods. He was curious as to how Hali was faring after her date with the first mate. The blond haired boy had wanted to be there for when Harry let the cat out of the bag, but the son of Gaston knew that sharing such information required a more sensitive touch than his oafish self struggled with. So he agreed wholeheartedly that Harry be the one to talk to Hali. Gil had yet to make it to the ship but he assumed that Harry would most likely still be passed out this early in the morning.

Eager to see her, Gil diverted from his path and dashed over to Hali.

Thrown by the cheery sight that was Gil, Hali paused long enough for Hadie to catch up to her.

"Oh hey guys!" Gil greeted.

Hali made a noise of acknowledgement that probably sounded more like a groan. She shuffled her feet anxiously, continuously glancing at where Hades' Souvlaki was placed between two other crumbling buildings across the street. Even though every cell in her body wanted to simply ignore Gil and continue on her war path, she couldn't just leave the boy hanging with the curious way he was looking at her. Meanwhile, Hadie thanked whatever god had answered his prayer by planting Gil firmly in Hali's way.

Exasperated by the interception, she absolved herself the slight guilt that came with brushing the blond haired boy off. "I can't talk, Gil. Sort of in the middle of something important," she told him briskly.

The two boys watched her, Hadie with growing alarm and Gil with utter confusion, as she brushed past both of them. Hadie bit the inside of his cheek when Gil turned turned to him for answers.

"Should we follow her?" he asked awkwardly.

The blue haired boy made a noncommittal noise before he started shuffling towards Hades Souvlaki.

Hades was seated comfortably in the sturdiest chair in the shop, his feet up on a table. He was sorting through a pile of cash, carefully counting each cent and updating a careful log of his finances on a series of scrolls. Pain and Panic were dozing not far away from their master, slumped over in a couple of chairs that were too small to seat them comfortably. The once shapeshifting demons were now perpetually stuck in hulking and monstrous forms since they were sentenced to the Isle. If only Hades could actually trust his minions to hold a working brain cell between them or else he could actually use them for important tasks rather than as muscle to keep other villains off his back. Regardless of their low intelligence, they were still terrifying to behold when one gazed upon them.

Disrupting the otherwise quiet shop, Hali threw the shop doors open with a bang. "Hades!" she raged upon her abrupt entrance.

Unfazed by the unwelcome intrusion, the god of the underworld didn't look up from his cash as she made her way towards him. ""Hades"? Really? What happened to "father"? "Dad"? "Pops"?" he chuckled.

She snapped at him, "It ends now!" The demigoddess stood her ground, though she made sure to keep a table between them. "You lied to me. My. Entire. Life," she ground out spitefully.

Nonplussed as to what they would be walking into, Gil and Hadie entered the shop. Hali and Hades paid them no mind. Still confused as to why Gil had wanted to follow him into the shop, Hadie hovered nervously near Hali. Vibrating with unease, he took in the unfolding scene with trepidation. What he wanted most was to grab Hali's hand and make a run for it before the confrontation took a turn for the worst. If only he could bring himself to move from where he was rooted to the spot.

Gil took in the scene cautiously. He was just starting to realize he was the only mortal in a roomful of gods and monsters as he eyed the stirring demons, obviously sensing the brewing conflict in the room.

Hades set aside pen and paper. Giving Hali his undivided attention, he steepled his fingers. "What makes you say that?"

He was humoring her like she was a petulant child clamoring for his attention. She wondered if the bomb she was about to drop would make him take her seriously for once. "Zeus told me everything about your deal with my real parents. So you can drop the act."

Without missing a beat, he responded, "Did he now? That's my brother for you. Always making my life a living hell." He laughed at his own joke, baring his sharp teeth so that they flashed in the dim light. "Finally decided not to take the potion, huh kid?"

She flinched, not expecting that kind of response. He was supposed to be freaking out, wondering how she had come to expose him! The one thing he was not supposed to be was completely unaffected. "You-you knew about the potion?"

"Of course I knew about the potion." The familiar all too knowing look in his eye made her heart sink. "Who do you think had it delivered to you when you were at Serpent Prep?" He jerked his thumb in the direction of the demons.

She glowered at Pain and Panic who each waved at her, wiggling their tapered claws while they sneered. They made the otherwise innocent gesture appear threatening with their sharp teeth and sharper claws. Despite being practically raised by the demonic pair, Hali knew better than most how horrifying they could be. Catching the twisted sight, Hadie and Gil became a little pale.

Scrambling to keep her cool, she turned back to Hades. "Why would you do that?"

Hades guffawed. "To avoid hearing you whine about how "you're not my dad"-" he imitated her voice in a high pitched tone- "or something along those lines! Kind of like how you are right now," he told her drolly.

She wanted to scream in frustration. Her black nails dug into her palms so hard until blood began to seep around her fingertips."Why would you tell everyone that I was your daughter at all!" she demanded hotly.

"That was a favor to your parents. They managed to fit that much into the deal," he waved his hand dismissively.

She was desperately fighting back a wave of tears. "I don't understand how deceiving me and everyone else for seventeen years is a favor to my parents."

"Just imagine, for a moment, what would happen if word got out about the deal your parents made. Can't trust anyone on the Isle to keep their trap shut. The heroes of Auradon would eventually try to interfere and break the deal. You'd be dead. But you're not dead, so I wouldn't mind hearing some gratitude."

Gil and Hadie were startled by this new piece of information. Hali could have died if everyone knew Hades' secret? More than ever, Hadie wanted to leave the shop before his father stopped deciding to humor them. Gil wanted to ask what exactly the god had meant but the boy knew better than to interrupt and gain his attention.

Hali knew the boys were staring at her; could feel their eyes boring into her back. She wanted to turn around and scream at them to leave so they didn't have to witness her humiliation. Instead, she summoned all her frustration and aimed it at Hades. "Gratitude is the last thing I feel towards you! You're the whole reason I had to grow up in this prison!" she exploded.

The room became deadly silent for a heart wracking moment.

The grey skinned god snapped his fingers at the two demons standing eagerly at the ready. "Boys?"

Sickeningly gleeful at the turn of events, Pain and Panic surged towards Hadie and Gil. The demons moved so fast, Hali watched helplessly as the fearsome creatures grabbed hold of each boy in an iron lock. They both shouted and struggled to escape until the explosive blue flames on Hades' head reached to burn through the heavens. Everyone stilled in shocked silence at the fiery display.

When the wrathful god clasped his spindly fingers around Hali's wrists did she finally take notice of how his patience had officially run out.

"You're hilarious kid. _I'm_ the reason you grew up in this dump? No, no, no. Your _parents,_ Hercules and Meg, are the ones who wanted to make a deal."

His hands were impossibly warm against her skin, scorching almost. She tried to pull away but that only made his grip tighter around her wrists. The length of his fingers wrapped around her small wrists and his touch burned. This was bad.

"Unhand me!" she demanded, trying to make it sound like she hadn't completely lost control of the situation.

Hades towered over her. He did not look amused by her tone. " _I raised you, little girl._ I put a roof over your head, clothes on your back. I didn't have to do all that, did I?"

Hades hands gripping Hali's wrists burst into cobalt blue flames. She screamed at the sight and the searing pain of her skin burning. The demons were cheering on their boss, adding cruel commentary about how to show the demigoddess her place. Gil and Hadie struggled harder than ever to escape their captors, breaking out in a cold sweat as they were forced to listen to Hali's screams.

Hades relished the sound. "What did you parents ever do for you besides trade your life for theirs? They even replaced you with that budding tourney player, Herkie, your actual brother."

His words seared into her as painfully as his fire. Hali's legs caved and she was forced to her knees. The fire was traveling down the length of her slender could smell her own burning flesh. She had thought the torment of Zeus' desperate messages in her dreams were bad. This was a waking nightmare. Blue fire, and rancid yellow and glowing red eyes filled her vision.

"Let her go!" Gil cried, his heart hammering in his broad chest

Hades hardly spared him a glance. "This a family matter, so forgive me if I just continue to ignore you. Great. Nice to meet you."

"Dad please!" Hadie begged.

The god ground his teeth together in annoyance. "Son, I am teaching your not-sister a lesson. I won't tolerate backtalk. I just won't," he growled.

The flames disappeared as quickly as they were summoned. Hali immediately scrambled away, setting her back heavily against a nearby table leg. She couldn't bend her arms without shooting pain racing up and down her limbs. Curling in on as much of herself as she could, she withered away from Hades who scooped his money on top of the table into a draw string bag.

"We're done here boys. You can let the kids go. By the way, Hali dear, don't bother coming home," he told her pleasantly, smoothing back the flames on his head.

Bored now, the demons complied and followed their master out.

Hadie and Gil ran to Hali's side. She refused to open her eyes or answer their frantic questions on whether or not she was okay. The girl was shaking like the last wilted leaf on an autumn tree caught in a strong gust.

"W-we have to get her some help," Gil stammered.

Hadie instantly thought of Yen Sid. The good professor from Dragon Hall would know what to do. He always knew what to do.

Gil scooped up Hali in his arms in one easy movement. He was extra careful not to touch the blackened welts running up and down her arms. She didn't make a sound.

Hadie held the door open for them and they made their way to the shipyard, garnering a few curious looks from the locals littering the streets. The younger boy pushed down his apprehension for their destination. He wanted to argue that they should go to someone better suited to heal his Hali's burns, but he was too afraid. He had never seen Gil look so grim.

Hadie followed him nervously. "Where exactly are you taking her?" he asked hesitantly.

Gil ignored the looks he was getting from the goblins in the street. His only thought was to get Hali help. Part of him felt responsible that she got hurt and he was still reeling from allowing it to happen. He knew that the demon, Panic, had stopped him from being able to help. Yet, he still felt guilt welling up inside him that he hadn't been strong enough to fight back. The one thing he had going for him was his strength which he relied on to keep those he cared about safe. Only this time, he had failed to do so. He hoped that Hali would be able to forgive him.

He answered in a daze. "The Lost Revenge. She'll be safe there." Harry will know what to do, Gil reassured himself.


	5. Trust

Hali wasn't sure how she ended up on a ship. She knew it was a ship, definitely, from the pungent odor of rotting fish that clung to the damp wood planks of the large room. The captain's quarters, she surmised from the familiar long blue coats and seashell decorated pirate hat hanging from a hook on the far wall. Not to mention, there were other, more subtle touches around the room that bespoke the room's true owner. A display of decorative scabbards on the far wall, a collection of seashells strew across cracked tray on a dresser, and a dirty apron tossed in a corner all screamed "PROPERTY OF UMA".

Hali would be lying if she said she had never been curious as to what Uma's quarters on the Lost Revenge looked like. She only wondered how she had ended up there given the circumstances. Her head felt floaty and her memories were hazy. When she tried to sit up, it all came rushing back her like the waves of agony flowing up and down her arms with every movement.

"Damnation!" she cursed, gasping, before collapsing back down on the lumpy mattress.

"Easy, sis," Hadie warned from where he sat beside her on the edge of the bed as he reached over and fluffed her mildewy pillow so she was at least somewhat upright. "You may be a demigoddess, but you're still healing. Give it another few hours and you should be good to go."

"If you say so. Hurts like hell," she grumbled as she settled back.

Sh emotionlessly at her splayed, bandaged arms.

"How did I get here?"

Hadie appeared tense. She could tell the younger boy was uncomfortable with their surroundings. His apprehension radiated off him and she had a strong inkling that had to do with the fact that Gil and Harry were lounging in a couple of chairs by the captain's desk in front of the murky bay windows. Sensing he was under observation, Gil looked up and caught her eye. He eagerly dropped what he was doing and rounded the desk to hover near the bed.

"Are you okay Hali?" he asked, buzzing with nervous energy. "Harry bandaged you up pretty good. If you're still in pain we can give you something for it. Well, I mean, it's rum so I don't know if that's something you would want right now." Reaching up to rub the back of his neck, he regretted opening his mouth.

Hali almost took him up on his offer, but she knew it was pointless to numb the pain with booze. "Thanks for the offer, but I'm good, Gil. Did you carry me here? How long was I out?"

"Oh, um. Yeah. I carried you here after everything...happened. That was several hours ago. You were out for a long time." He shuffled his feet awkwardly, unsure of how to talk about what he witnessed at Hades' Souvlaki. Sure he had seen his father have his bad days, received the bruises and broken bones to keep him from forgetting, but the image of the god of the underworld hurting Hali scarred him in a way that couldn't be undone. He could only imagine how Hali must be coping. Lying there, she just looked so empty. Gil desperately wished there was something more he could do for her.

"You can stay as long as you need to and your brother too," he added, nodding at Hadie.

"Cousin," Hali corrected, earning a look of confusion from both boys. She raised a sardonic brow. "You were both there. You heard what Hades said. Technically Hadie is my cousin."

The blue haired boy frowned at that. She really had to make that distinction right then? "Please don't be like that. You're still my sister, Hali. You'll always be my big sister." He tried to convey the wholesome honesty backing his words in his eyes, hoping Hali would recognize that no matter what none of Hades' lies would change them.

Neither his words nor the brotherly affection in his eyes even remotely won her over. She scowled at him. "No. Don't you see? It was all a lie, Hadie; a cosmic joke. Now we know why Hades was always a little more cruel towards me than you. He's been laughing at me this whole time and I never knew why but it's because I'm not his kid. Not like you are. So you don't have to play along anymore, cuz. The game's over and he's had his fun."

Hadie couldn't believe she was doing this; pushing him away. Couldn't she see that he was pretty much in the same boat as her? He didn't like being the son of Hades any more than she didn't like being lied to about who her real parents were. If she couldn't go home, then neither could he. "I was never playing along Hali! He lied to the both of us. Yeah, he was cruel towards you, but he didn't let up on me either when you were at school."

She sighed heavily, feeling the beginnings of a pounding headache coming on. "I just don't know who to trust right now. I feel like I've lost my grip on reality," she admitted quietly.

Hadie appeared sympathetic and when Hali looked at him she knew that if anyone understand her, it was her brother. "You can always trust me, sis."

He tried not to feel hurt when she looked slightly unconvinced.

"You can trust us too," Gil chimed in.

Hali and Hadie spared him a look, having almost forgotten his presence.

"What he said," Harry seconded as he casually sauntered over.

Hali tried not to stare at him too hard. The aspiring pirate looked as tired as she felt. There were shadows around his eyes that no amount of black kohl could hide. His usual air of haughty arrogance had dissipated into something more somber and subdued. Hali wondered if he had gotten any sleep the other night or if he had drank himself into a stupor. Or maybe what she imagined was her grand entrance being carried aboard in Gil's arms with third degree burns had took the wind out of his sails. The bitter, angry part of her hoped that he felt at least a little bit guilty for sending her on this path.

"Gil told me what happened. It's a good thing ye heal faster than the rest of us fragile mortals, or ye would be in quite some trouble." He smirked.

The sight of that lazy expression enraged her. It didn't matter that she knew Harry didn't exactly do visible concern, but she was pissed off and aching to take it out on someone. "If you had never convinced me to give up my potion I never would have been in any trouble," she retorted.

"Aye, but then ye never would have known the truth either," he pointed out.

That does it! Her temper boiled over and she started reaching for more ammunition. "Why did you want me to find out the truth? What was so important to you that I find out my entire life is a lie?" she snapped, almost jerking out of bed like she was ready to fight him. The searing pain of her half healed burns kept her in check.

Gil and Harry exchanged a look before glancing at Hadie, assessing his presence. He squirmed at the attention. Fighting the urge to bark at the pirates to back off, Hali placed her hand reassuringly over her brothers.

"If you have something to say, you can say it in front of Hadie," Hali told them pointedly.

Gil shrugged at Harry, who in turned rolled his eyes. This was probably not how Uma planned any of this to happen. Whatever. A pirate knew how to ride with the tide.

Harry tugged a nearby chair with his free hand to her bedside and straddled it. Hali gulped nervously as he pulled out a rolled up piece of parchment from inside his jacket, his intent gaze on her the entire time.

"Actually, it is important to Uma that ye know about Hades' lies," he explained, shaking the scroll for emphasis.

Hali was officially thrown. "Uma?" What could the sea witch's daughter possibly want with her?

"Aye. Uma," Harry said her name with reverence. "See, lass, the captain has got plans she thinks ye might want to be a part of."

Hadie did not like the sound of that. As a member of the Anti-Heroes Club, there was no way he could condone his sister being recruited into Uma's crew. Sure Big Murph, the son of one of Captain Hook's pirates was a member of the club, but other pirates just weren't like him. He eyed Gil who was leaning against the wall next to him with his impressive arms crossed by the foot of the bed. Hadie bit the inside of his cheek nervously as he continued to listen quietly.

"Why me?" Hali didn't bother asking what kind of plans Uma had in mind, automatically guessing that they involved getting even with the heroes who condemned her and her crew to the Isle.

Harry cocked his head and grinned. "Because you have every right to want revenge on those Auradonian hypocrites. Possibly even more than the rest of us. Uma would like to help."

Everything he said rang true inside Hali's broken heart. Hercules, the most heroic demigod in all of Auradon was nothing more than a phony. The truth was he couldn't save his one true love without dooming their first born child to be raised by his greatest enemy. Not that anyone knew that part, of course. Auradon thought he was a hero through and through. To Hali, on the other hand, he was anything but.

"Tell me more."

Hadie could not believe his ears! There was no way his sister truly wanted to help blood thirsty pirates get revenge on Auradon. This was insanity! Hali didn't plot revenge. She pressed dead flowers and wrote her daydreams down in a journal! Any second now she was going to come to her senses when she heard what Uma had in store for her.

He watched her face carefully as Harry explained what Uma's message said, how the sea witch's daughter had gone into hiding in Auradon after the king's cotillion and searched for leverage she could use against King Ben. The search took her a while. In a land full of do good heroes, finding a stain on their perfect reputations proved challenging even for someone as clever as Uma, or it was until an unlikely source served it up to her on a platter. The captain then left instructions for Harry and Gil to garner Hali's trust.

At the end of the story, Hadie was somewhat pleased that Hali was stricken.

"So last night you were just following orders? Stringing me along to please your captain? You could have just told me you knew Hades wasn't my real father!" She felt frustrated tears welling up in her eyes.

Harry sniffed indignantly as he tucked away the letter once more. "Ye never would have believed me."

"That's not the point! I am sick to death of people lying to me!" Hali swung her legs over the edge of the mattress, ignoring Gil's and Hadie's protests and also the shooting pain of her now second degree burns. "I need some air. If any of you know what's good for you, all of you will stay away from me."

All three boys watched as the angry demigoddess stormed out of the captain's quarters with varying degrees of concern.

"I'm going to go talk to her," Gil said before taking off after her, leaving behind a highly stressed Hadie and a tired Harry.

Gil rushed to keep up with Hali's fast pace until he caught up to her just as she passed Ursula's Chip shop. It helped that Hali had no idea where she could go to just be alone. She had made up her mind to wander on autopilot the moment she stepped foot onto dry land.

"Hali wait! Please hear me out." He stood in her path, forcing her to stay put.

If her arms didn't hurt to Mount Olympus and back, she would have crossed her arms defiantly and glared daggers at the burly muscled boy. She settled for the glaring part.

"Why should I? It's because of you and Harry I have second degree burns and I can't go home," she argued.

"I am so sorry about that. We didn't know any of that was going to happen. Please come back to the ship. Me and Harry want to help you. You just have to trust us." Gil wanted to add that Uma wanted to help her too, but he didn't think it would be very smart of him to mention the captain's name in public. After all, it was still a secret that she was still in contact with her trusty first mate and Gil.

Hali wanted to trust him. The big guy didn't have an untrustworthy bone, or muscle, in his body. How had she never noticed how nice his arms were? She mentally shook her head to focus on the matter at hand.

"How can I trust Harry, though? He has no regard for anyone else's life or my personal feelings."

"I promise you, Harry does care, even if he acts like he doesn't care about anything in the world." Hali was doubtful even as a sliver of hope grew in her chest. "The rest of the crew ditched us a few days ago. Me and Harry need you. There's a place for you on this crew, Hali, if you want it. We don't have anyone else anymore."

She knew how that felt. To be stuck with only one other person she could trust. It broke her heart to think that without Uma around, Harry and Gil were totally alone.

Her dearest wish was being granted and for that she should have been ecstatic. The only problem was she hadn't counted on the messed up circumstances like finding out her biological parents basically gave her away to save their skins and becoming a pawn Uma's plan for that wish to be granted.

She shuffled her feet uncertainly.

Gil took a step closer, trying to catch her eye. "Give him a chance. Give me a chance," he pleaded.

Her entire vision was filled with Gil's pleading eyes. It really was impossible to tell this boy no. She just wanted to throw her damaged arms around him, knowing he'd be able to shoulder the weight of her problems while he rubbed her back comfortingly.

"Okay," she sighed, relenting. "I'm going to chose to trust you. Don't make me regret it."

The smile that crossed Gil's face was blinding and so infectious, Hali couldn't help but smile back.

Together, they walked back to the ship in companionable silence. After the show down with the god of the underworld early in the morning and sleeping through most the day, the sun was setting fast. When the re-entered the captain's quarters they found Harry standing by the window, watching the ocean tide with a searching gaze.

"Where's my brother?" she asked him when she reached his side.

He tilted his chin up and shrugged. "He left after Gil did. No idea where. Boy didn't say."

Well that's just typical. She thought. Hadie probably didn't appreciate being left behind with notorious mad man and ran at the first chance he got.

Gil joined them at the window, and they watched quietly as the sun sank beneath the sea. It was peaceful for a while. Standing together, they felt safe and with Uma's plan in the works they were reassured that everything was going to be just fine.

The cabin grew dark and cold. Surprising the other two, Harry suddenly spun on his heel and headed for the deck. Recovering from his surprise, Gil followed the first mate, knowing his destination was the docks. Still confused by their abrupt exit, Hali trailed after the two pirates.

The three of them stopped just before the wooden dock. Wordlessly, Harry jumped down onto the rocky shore and Gil helped lower Hali into Harry's waiting arms. She blushed at the grin that split across his features. Gil leapt down next to them and Harry looked to him to do the honors.

Gil felt the anticipation building in his chest. "We did it Uma. We are ready for whatever you've got planned. Tell us what to do next," he told the sea.

The three of them waited for a reply.

There was none. Until the top of a bottle suddenly appeared out of the water. Unafraid of the crocodiles that might be nearby, Harry eagerly waded into the water until he was knee deep to snatch the bottle out of the water. Hali bit her lip nervously at the sight, but one look at Gil's relaxed features eased her worry.

Harry trudged back to the shore and tipped the bottle until another scroll fell out.

"What does it say?" Gil asked giddily.

Harry scanned the letter's contents quickly. He felt his heart stutter at what he found.

"There's a curse on Hali keeping her on the Isle. Uma needs me to break it."


	6. When It Rains It Pours

In the early hours of the morning, Hali tossed and turned in the small cabin bunk Gil directed her to after they left Harry by the docks. The small bunk was packed tightly against the wall in a room as big as a closet. While she was already used to drafty, run down bedrooms, this cabin was arguably worse. With every push and pull of the waves outside against the wooden boards, the entire ship would creak and groan in a way that unsettled her. But the noise wasn't the only thing keeping her up.

There's a curse on Hali preventing her from leaving the Isle. She heard Harry's lilting voice in her head.

She sighed as she stared tiredly at the wall.

Of all the things keeping her from escaping the Isle, being personally cursed was the last thing she had anticipated. The curse didn't quite seem real to her. Wasn't everyone on the Isle, in a way, cursed from escaping?After all, there was a giant magical barrier encompassing the Isle, and not to mention hungry crocodile infested waters also surrounding the Isle to ensure no one made a jailbreak.

Being cursed wasn't what was keeping her up either, however.

It was Uma's plan to break the curse that was filling up her head to the brim leaving no room for sleep.

Hali huffed and rolled onto her back.

The plan was a good one; a hundred percent guaranteed to work. At least it would be if she wasn't killed as soon as they tried to break the curse. She thought back to what Hades had told her at the shop.

The heroes of Auradon would eventually try to interfere and break the deal. You'd be dead.

Uma and her crew were no heroes, but they were going to try to break her parents deal. When that finally happened Hali couldn't help but worry that she would be struck dead as soon as the fates figured out what was going on. And then there was the part of the plan that included Harry. He hadn't been too thrilled once he'd read through his captain's letter. Actually, she may be putting that mildly. Harry had been devastated.

She had pried the letter from his stiff fingers on that rocky shore and he had flinched away from her and when she looked into his eyes to understand why oh how they burned.

When she had agreed to join Uma's crew she hadn't intended to become the driving force that came between captain and first mate. Of course that was exactly what she was now. Gil had had to herd Harry away from the water's edge because the young pirate could only stand there, staring despondently out into the sea. After showing Hali where she could sleep Gil spent the rest of the night with Harry, making sure the other boy didn't do something that could hurt him.

Hali wished she had someone to talk to. Hadie never returned to the ship. To her. An insecure voice in her head told her Hadie would never come back to her, that she wasn't worth his time. She would only bring him trouble and she did not want him to get hurt what with everything going on. If Hadie got hurt she would only have herself to blame.

Still, she needed someone to talk to about Uma's plan to break the curse. There was one sure fire to break a curse and that was true loves kiss. It sounded simple enough except for one tiny snag. Harry wasn't in love with her. He had only met her a day ago for crying out loud! Uma wasn't a fool, though. That's why the plan was to go down to the goblin barges the next night where Uma smuggled in her secret weapon to fix the problem. Hali just had to get through the day while they waited for the goblin barge to come in later that night.

Morning finally rolled in and Hali was forced to crawl out of her cramped bed in search of food. Or what passed for food on the Isle. Missing what little warmth her leather jacket brought her, she rubbed her now fully healed arms to smooth over the goosebumps from the damp chill lingering even in the heart of the ship. She entered the captain's cabin tentatively and found Harry and Gil seated at Uma's desk with a plate of food scraps.

As she closed the door behind her to preserve some of the warmth in the room, the boys looked up at her entrance. She braced herself. Harry stared openly at her, sizing her up maybe? After a long pause he grew bored and resumed eating. She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding.

Gil smiled at her, though she could tell it was strained. "Morning. Food?" he mumbled around a mouthful of food and jerked his head at the chipped plate.

She wrapped her arms around herself and smiled weakly. The tension only got thicker as she pulled up a seat across from them. Forcing herself to ignore how they both shifted uncomfortably, she reached for a half rotting apple and bit into it. They ate in silence.

Gil noticed how Hali sat hunched and realized she was cold. He shoved a handful of food in his mouth before he stood up and retrieved Uma's coat from the hook on wall. Harry followed his movements furiously.

"Thanks," Hali squeaked as Gil draped the coat across her shoulders.

She couldn't look away from Harry. His hard eyes were so full of betrayal and they were aimed at Gil. The blond boy seemed to wither under his gaze and he had the urge to leave the room and sit in timeout.

Hali hated this. She hated this terse silence between them. Harry and Gil had been crewmates longer than Hali had known them and she hated that they weren't talking. While she doubted that the two never argued, she could tell that a voice was missing. Uma's voice. Their captain would know what to say to diffuse the tension. Hali wished not for the first time that Uma was there with them.

"Please stop. I don't like this situation any more than you do," she sighed sadly.

"And yet ye are the one who benefits the most from it," Harry retorted bitterly.

"This isn't my plan. I know what you and Uma have-" Harry regarded her heatedly from across the table- "and I don't know why she chose you to do it. Hells, I don't even know why she chose me. If you don't want to do this, than you shouldn't."

Hali stared the first mate down.

"I'll do it," Gil's small voice cut in.

Surprised, Hali turned to face Gil. Harry paled.

"Absolutely not," Harry interjected.

Gil frowned. "I can do it. I don't mind." He had to protect the first mate as much as the captain.

Harry felt a stab of panic. As much as he did not want to be bound to a girl he barely knew, he wouldn't wish that on sweet Gil either. Gil deserved to find love in his own time and he was going to say as much.

"No." Hali beat Harry to it. "Please don't feel like you need to take a hit for your first mate, Gil. Neither of you have to do this."

Gil looked confused. "But if we don't then you'll be stuck on the Isle. You can't stay here." He didn't want to mention what Hades and what he could do if she ran into him again.

She smiled sadly. "I'll figure something out."

Harry and Gil did not appear reassured.

"Well we can't let the bloody thing fall into the wrong hands. People will ask questions. It might lead to Uma. So tonight we are going to the barge like planned," Harry explained.

Gil nodded slowly, mulling the words over. He still wanted to press that he be the one to carry out the other part of the plan. For now though, he bit his tongue and let it go.

With nothing left to say, Hali turned back to the plate of food and continued eating in tense silence. In fact, all three of them spent the rest of the day in tense silence. Gil tried to make himself useful around the ship, going about repairs here and there to stay busy. Hali lounged on the deck in hopes of her brother coming back, though she wasn't holding her breath. Harry, on the other hand, could not be pried away from staring out the large bay windows in the captain's quarters.

Eventually the day wore down and night time finally rolled in on a cloud of fog. The wharf where the goblin barges, now only one because of King Ben's embargo, docked was always covered in a blanket of fog. Hali, Harry, and Gil used this for cover as they slunk across the uneven boards of the wharf. They kept low despite the cover and hid behind some already unloaded crates.

"Where is that dreadful goblin?" Hali heard Harry mutter under his breath.

She scanned the span of the wharf, watching the goblins unloading their cargo with a careful eye. The plan here was to look for Uma's trusted goblin lackey for the hand off while avoiding attention from the rest of the goblin crew and anyone else who might be lurking around the wharf. Truthfully, Hali was curious as to Uma had managed to sway a goblin to do her bidding. The creatures were notorious for being loyal to none other than Maleficent.

"Look! There he is!" Gil shout whisper-shouted in her ear.

Hali nudged Harry and jerked her head in the direction Gil was looking in. Standing a little over a hundred feet away was a goblin leaning against a crate. It was easy to pick the stationary creature out of the flurry of activity up and down the wharf. All the movement around them made Hali nervous. She didn't like this at all, but she was thankful that there was only one crew instead of the usual number. If there had been more she was sure they would've been made before they even set foot on the wharf.

Still, Hali knew that the unemployed goblins had set up a tent town by the wharf. Avoiding it on their way to the handoff had been scary enough. Ever since the embargo it seemed that the creatures were everywhere. She was terrified of being caught and her heart was beating a mile a minute. Never had the introverted girl ever been involved in something so clandestine and with Harry and Gil by her side she found the situation unexpectedly exciting.

The particular goblin that grabbed their attention was on the move now, pushing a crate along the wharf towards the street.

"That's our goblin. Let's follow him," Harry told them, not taking his keen eyes off the creature.

Hali found that while the impish creature had all the creepy characteristic features that all goblins possess, she wasn't exactly intimidated by his presence. The goblin didn't give his name so Hali decided to call him Leery in her head on account of how his lip curled in a leer at the moment of their arrival. Hidden from prying eyes in an empty and cramped alleyway, they met Leery's disdain with a confident front.

"Do ye have something for us, goblin?" Harry asked, calm and collected. Hali had no idea how he did it. The dark haired boy was actually smiling as though Uma's plan hadn't caused him to sulk all day.

Leery grunted and jerked his pointed chin towards the unopened crate. "Yeah I've got it," he grumbled, wheezing voice like paper being shredded through a machine.

"Great!" Gil grinned and took a step towards the crate.

Leery stepped in front of the crate, blocking the blond haired boy. Gil stopped short in befuddlement and Hali saw Harry grip the handle of his sword a little more firmly.

"Are ye going to hand it over?" Harry cocked his head, smile becoming strained. Sensing the unforeseen turn of events, he brought his hook up to catch the goblin's attention. The gesture was a warning. A warning of what, Hali wasn't entirely certain. She tried to recall a time Harry had actually hurt someone with said hook and came up short.

Leery grumbled, eyeing the glinting hook. "I could. Or I could turn it over to the King, collect a reward." He bared his gnarled teeth in a mocking grin.

After a lifetime of being around a literal hothead prone to sudden mood swings, Hali instinctively knew what was about to happen faster than her body could move to prevent it. Harry's temper flared in an instant. She stood too close to a raging fire, feeling every punishing wave of heat coming off of the inferno and it made her healed burns ache. Foregoing his sword entirely, Harry surged forward, past Gil, and grabbed Leery by his tattered coat collar with the hand not holding his hook.

Hali started to say his name, "Har-"

He none too gently shoved the sputtering goblin against the slimey brick alley wall. She could see that his pupils were blown wide, eyes darkened by mania, and for a moment she could see all the ugliness inside he had inherited from his mad father. The near betrayal of his captain had worn the boy down to the twisted and raw quivering tangle of frayed nerves he now resembled.  
"Gil. Crate," he ground out wobbily.

Hali shared a look with Gil in the split second that Gil hesitated following the order. She nodded to him, as though she could reassure him when she was already treading water. Gil moved slowly around Harry and the goblin. He pried open the crate easily with his bare hands. Hali shuffled closer to get a better look at the crate's contents. It was packed messily with random junk. Broken bits of appliances and other various odds and ends from Auradon didn't immediately to be of interest as she sifted through the cast offs. The second hand objects were so innocuous that Hali almost missed the very item Uma had smuggled onto the Isle. She pulled a collapsed umbrella from the crate, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Got it," she reported triumphantly.

Harry didn't pay much mind to her. The goblin thrashed against his hold.

"Don't know what the sea witch's daughter is going to do with an umbrella, but I bet the boy King would be real curious why she kept it so secret. There might even be a reward in it for me. As soon as we're done here, I'm going to-"

Leery didn't get a chance to finish that sentence as Harry brought his hook up and slammed it into the goblin's wart strewn face.

"Harry!" Gil shouted as the other boy furiously beat the goblin into an unconscious huddle on the alleyway floor.

Hali pressed her back flat against the other side of the alley, clutching the umbrella against her chest. Frozen with fear, she watched numbly as Gil wrestled Harry away from the bloodied and mangled goblin. The young pirate's haggard face glistened with sweat and he panted for breath. He was still watching the unmoving mass that was the goblin like a predator still latched onto its prey. Gil looked to Hali for help and it shook her out of her locked position.

"H-Harry," she breathed. Peeling herself from the brick wall, she shook the umbrella so he would look at it. "We've got what we came for. H-he's not gonna talk. We should g-go," she managed to get out, through she stumbled over her words.

Gil didn't know whether to be relieved or not when the first mate quit struggling. Eventually, he shrugged out of Gil's hold and started towards the alley's exit without a word. They watched him leave, both too stunned to immediately follow. The cloying vacuum Harry's savagery had formed around them dissipated slowly and sounds of the Isle nightlife filtered in.

The umbrella in Hali's hands felt heavier than it should have.


	7. Cupid's Arrow

From the first time Hali saw the son of infamous Captain Hook, she had put Harry on a pedestal… which he swan dived right off of. Hali contemplated this the entire way back to the Lost Revenge. If she wanted to use an analogy fit for a pirate she would say that she made the Harry she thought she understood walk the damn plank.

A fine mist sprinkled the Isle, dampening their clothes slightly. Hali pulled the collar of her borrowed coat a little closer to her throat wishing she had a hat like Harry or at least a bandana like Gil. Despite the fact that they had successfully procured Uma's smuggled item, it still felt like the night had gone horribly wrong anyway.

She lingered on the deck when they returned to the ship. Harry didn't cast either of his crewmates a second glance before retreating into the captain's quarters. Gil paused, however, letting his confusion show.

"What is it Hali?" he asked.

She glanced at the long umbrella in her hands. It was an ugly green color, like the mildew on the rotting wooden boards of the shipyard and it was ripped in a few places. The cheap plastic handle felt loose as if chewing gum was keeping it from falling completely off. Hard to believe that a piece of garbage could cause someone so much pain.

At last, she held the umbrella out for Gil to take. He raised a brow at her odd behavior but took the umbrella from her grasp.

"You go ahead. I'm just going to stay out here for a little while," she said, offering a weak smile.

"Alright."

Gil wanted to tell her not to stay out too long in case the rain picked up and she got caught in the brewing storm over the Isle. She turned away before he could open his mouth and made her way to the railing. He ducked his head and tore his eyes away.

Harry stared vacantly at Gil when he entered the captain's quarters. He didn't ask where Hali had gone and Gil didn't tell him.

They sat across from each other, Uma's desk between them and the umbrella resting on the desk's scratched surface.

The room was quiet for all of two seconds before Gil spoke up. "Why did Uma send us an umbrella? Did she knew it was gonna rain?"

Harry refrained from rolling his eyes at his companion's dumb question. Barely.

He set his hook aside and snatched the umbrella from the desk and immediately began disassembling it's parts. The handle unscrewed easily, and the runner connecting the canopy to the umbrella's metal shaft slid right off. Without the canopy and handle (which Harry swiftly discarded), essentially everything that made the piece of junk an umbrella, all the remained was a long, thin metal rod.

Gil squinted at the object's remains and then skeptically at Harry. The first mate ignored him and shook something free the hollowed out handle. Riveted, Gil watched as an ornate arrowhead tipped out of the handle with a metallic thunk as it hit the desk. With deft fingers, Harry screwed the arrowhead onto one end of the long metal shaft and fletching onto the other.

"Uma didn't send us an umbrella, mate. She smuggled us one of cupid's arrows," he boasted as he picked up his hook again.

Gil's eyes widened when he realized what he was looking at. "Ooooh!" He beamed, overjoyed by Uma's cleverness.

His joy faded however when something occurred to him. "But there's no magic on the Isle. Won't we need magic to make the arrow work?"

Harry shook his head, suddenly bone tired. "That's not how the arrow works. Magic doesn't create love. The love that the arrow creates is magic." He didn't sound like he believed a word of what he said. Even Gil could pick up on his disbelief.

"But the barrier keeps out magic," Gil argued.

"Point is the barrier keeps out magic but it doesn't keep out love!" Harry snapped.

Gil froze, sensing he crossed a line. For a split second he was reminded of how Uma would run out of patience and send him away. Harry had never lost his patience with him and snipe at him which was saying something considering the first mate's short fuse.

"Why is using the arrow so hard for you?"

People didn't date on the Isle, but whatever crew you were running with was sort of a relationship status in and of itself. Harry didn't understand how Gil could forget that. Uma was everything to him. But her plan was to push him away and it was killing him. If only he could force the words out of him to explain all that.

"What do we even know about Hali? At Serpent Prep she was a ghost. Now all of a sudden Uma wants her in the crew? We don't know her and she doesn't know us."

"That's not actually true." Gil winced at the dark glare Harry shot him. But he marched on. "We know that Hali wants revenge as much as us. We know she can't stay on the Isle or Hades is probably going to torture her for the rest of her life. We know Uma wants her on our side. She must have a good reason."

Harry knew that Gil was right. It was quite shocking actually. Normally Gil wasn't so poignant and the fact that he was only spoke to how blinded Harry was to see the truth. He would do literally anything for his captain. Only now did he realize how he never expected that it would be necessary.

There was a time, before they held King Ben for ransom and the disaster that followed, when Harry believed that Uma would never hurt him. She was his captain and he was her first mate. They were always going to be there for eachother. And then Uma went off on her own and tried to steal everything, namely King Ben, from Mal. While he was ecstatic that Uma was finally getting her revenge and was going to free him and Gil and the rest of the crew from their prison, another smaller, more selfish part of him was ashamed that she was forced to do everything by herself after he failed her by letting the King escape. Everything that Uma had done after that had felt like a punishment for screwing everything up.

He didn't want to do this because Uma told him to and he would do anything for Uma. If Harry was going to do this, he had to do this because he trusted his captain to make everything right in the end.

"Go tell Uma, after tonight...we ride with the tide," Harry said, looking Gil right in the eye as he plucked the arrow from the desk.

Gil nodded seriously at him and Harry's eyes flicked to the door. He sprung from his chair, gripping the arrow shaft tightly in his free hand, and suavely left the captain's quarters.

As soon as he stepped foot outside on the deck he became aware of the charged atmosphere. The light sprinkling rain had picked up significantly. In the near distance he could feel as much as hear the raucous thunder. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. It felt like the closer he stepped towards Hali over by the ship's railing the more intense the electricity in the air became. His hat was soaked by the time he reached her, the little white feather wilting into a stringy quill. Incredibly, the sparse rain turned into an absolute downpour until both teens were being pelted by the deluge.

A flash of lightning flickered over the stormy sea, drawing his eye for a second. He gripped the arrow tighter until his knuckles turned white.

"I changed me mind!" he shouted over the thunderous rain.

Hali turned around, startled. Harry hoped he didn't look as much like a drowned cat as she did. Her long ponytail was plastered to her neck and the back of Uma's leather coat. Said coat looked like it weighed twice as heavy from how much water soaked into it. She blinked quickly, droplets of rain clinging to her long eyelashes. He couldn't be sure but he thought she might have been crying.

Her gaze darted to the arrow in his deathly grip. "You don't love me, Harry." And you're already in love with Uma she wanted to add but couldn't. "We barely know each other."

She avoided his eye, keeping her vision locked on the arrow held at his side. He took a step closer until his side leaned against the railing too. "Hence the arrow."

They were facing each other but she still couldn't bring herself to look him in the eye. She feared that if she did she would break into a million pieces and get washed away with the rain. "I already told you, you don't have to do this."

"This is the only way to break yer curse." He brandished the arrow wildly but Hali didn't flinch. "The only way to get ye off the Isle. Away from Hades. I'm doing this because I want to."

Her heart was pounding as if the thunder were in her chest. "It's not going to work anyway. There's no magic on the Isle."

"This will work. I trust Uma."

At last, Hali met his determined gaze. The expression in her eyes said what she couldn't speak aloud. You're already in love with someone else. Won't you be throwing that away? Harry understood exactly what her sad eyes tried to convey. He answered as best he could.

"Cupid's arrow isn't a weapon. It's not going to hurt."

Maybe it is possible to be in love with more than one person at a time. Harry thought of Uma at her best; her pillowy lips parted and smirking at him to tell him "hook me". He pictured Gil, not the quickest fish in the sea, but oh so loyal no matter how many times Harry ejected him from the Chip Shop or the Lost Revenge and was so impossibly sweet despite how poisonous the Isle wanted everyone to be. Harry didn't need anyone else in his life, but as he looked into Hali's red rimmed ocean blue eyes, he knew that she needed to be a part of his life.

He held the arrow up between them. A striking flash of lightning glinted off the sharp edge of the arrowhead. Her gaze darted uncertainly from his eyes to the arrow and then back again to his.

She couldn't believe that Harry was willing to do this for her. Not in her wildest dreams had she imagined that someday Harry Hook would actually love her, or at least whatever estimation a villain kid was capable of. That insecure voice that Hades cultivated in her head hissed that she wasn't worthy of being loved and venomously pointed out how pathetic she was as to need a magic arrow to pretend.

Sure Harry Hook was no knight in shining armor. All of her problems weren't going to go away because Harry Hook fell in love with her. But at least she would be free and there would be people who cared enough about her to join their crew.

"I hope for your sake that you're right," she told him, her quiet words almost drowned in the deafening rainfall.

Her hand shook as she held her index finger over the arrowhead's pointed tip. Harry was standing so close to her, his warm breath ghosted over her parted lips. His hooded eyes slid closed as his thumb poised over the lower edge of the arrowhead's blade. A blinding flash of lightning burned against her closed eyelids as she pricked her finger. At the same time, Harry pressed his thumb into the sharp blade and the thunder pounded like an applause.


	8. Meanwhile in Auradon

Meanwhile in Auradon

Ben sat at his cluttered desk trying to ignore his growling stomach as he finished the last of a stack of paperwork. Well, it would be the last of ONE stack of paperwork. So much for dividing the workload to make himself feel like he was actually making a dent.

As he added some notes to a proposal, there was a knock on his office door. Ben looked up, slightly apprehensive that it would be Cogsworth with more last minute memos. He really just wanted to go get lunch with Mal.

He cleared his throat and accepted his fate. "Come in!"

Cogsworth popped his head in through the door. Ben's eyebrows knitted with confusion as he took in the strained smile and shifting eyes. Having grown up with Cogsworth's nervous disposition, Ben immediately recognized the tell tale signs that something unexpected had come up in the former clock's immaculate scheduling.

"What's up?"

Cogsworth dabbed his forehead with a handkerchief. "Your majesty, I apologize for the intrusion, but they were most insistent."

Somehow Ben could tell that it wasn't Mal, Evie, Carlos, and Jay looking to kidnap him for lunch.

"Hercules and Megara are demanding they speak with you. Apparently," the butler's tone dripped with what Ben could almost call sarcasm, "the matter is quite urgent."

The young king knew how little mercy Cogsworth had for those who didn't make an appointment in advance.

His stomach rudely reminded him he was missing lunch. With full resolvement, Ben nodded. "Go ahead and let them in."

Cogsworth pursed his lips and nodded gravely. "Very well sir."

He opened the door fully and swept his arm out to reluctantly invite the two heroes into Ben's office before leaving and shutting the door behind him.

Ben stood up from his seat with his most winning smile and took in his guests. Hercules, since rejecting his immortality had begun to show signs of aging with the odd wrinkle on his face. He was still as burly as ever and seemed to take up half the room. Megara looked lovely as ever, if a little tired. There were shadows under her eyes and from the way she held herself, Ben could tell she was weary about her surroundings. Ben didn't think much of it because for as long as he had known her, she always appeared this way. He never asked why.

"Always an honor to have you here Hercules. Megara. I'm assuming you're here for Herkie, but Winter Homecoming isn't for another two weeks," Ben explained, folding his hands in front of him.

"We know that," Hercules grinned. "We're actually here about something else."

Ben was intrigued. "Please have a seat," he gestured to the plush leather chairs in front of his desk.

The leather creaked and cracked as Hercules took a seat, making the large chair appear small. Megara cast him a furtive look to which he returned a sheepish smile. In a way the heroic couple in front of him reminded him of his parents.

"So how can I help you?" Ben inquired curiously, having taken his seat again and folded his hands on his desk.

Megara crossed her legs and flipped her ponytail over her shoulder, catching Ben's attention. "We've been following your...proclamation very closely. The one where children of the Isle of the Lost are moved to Auradon Prep," she clarified.

Ben resisted the urge to shift in his seat. This wasn't the first time a couple of heroes and princes and princesses had express concern over his royal decree. He desperately hoped he wouldn't have to miss lunch over a debate that had already been beat to death a hundred times over. Unfortunately it was his job to reassure his people that he knew what he was doing.

"I can assure you each child has been vetted and vouched for by a reliable source. We have had no serious issues caused by any of the new students." There was a pause. "...Lately," he amended.

Hercules frowned. "Oh we're not here to complain about your decree. We were going to ask if we could sponsor someone."

Ben's eyebrows shot into his hairline. He couldn't help it. He was just so used to defending his decree he was never prepared when someone actually wanted to help out and support him. Hercules and Megara were not the first couple to offer sponsorship to a Villain Kid. There were a few but not enough to compensate for the more recent transfer students.

"Of course!" he burst out. Ben felt the tips of his ears go red when Hercules chuckled at his excitement and he missed the subtle sigh of relief Megara exhaled at his outburst. "I, uh, was actually planning on bringing over two more students. Another would be no trouble. Did you have someone in mind?"

"Halimeda, daughter of Hades."

Okay that was a first. None of the other sponsors had actually requested specifically to sponsor the offspring of their nemesis. "And the son of Hades? Hadie?"

Hercules and Megara shared a look so quickly Ben didn't even notice. "That's right," Megara answered at last, if a little tensely.

"I'll make the arrangements right away," Ben told them as their business concluded.

As Hercules and Megara left his office, Mal passed them on the way to see Ben about getting lunch. She didn't appear fazed by the sight of the heroes as Ben rounded his desk, but he could spot the curiosity in her green eyes. He leaned down and pecked a kiss on her cheek.

She grinned at the show of affection, her cheeks warming slightly. "What was that about?" she asked, motioning to the door that the heroes had exited through.

"Great news! They want to sponsor two more children from the Isle." He beamed at her.

She raised a brow, trepidation settling in the pit of her stomach. For the most part she had agreed with Evie's list of villain kids they had recently integrated into Auradon society. It was everyone else that hadn't made the list that made her weary. Not that she had ever been a strong judge of character like when it came to who she thought was her friend, Mad Maddy. After her shocking betrayal, Mal was slightly more selective who she put her trust in.

She attempted to project nonchalance as he threw his arm around her. "Who, exactly?"

"The children of Hades," he told her pleasantly.

Mal nodded her head slowly, mulling over this piece of information. She trusted Hadie well enough. In fact, he had originally made Evie's list but ended up turning down his invitation for a chance at helping recruit more villain kids to the Anti-Heroes Club so they could learn how to be good. His sister on the other hand...Mal wasn't too sure about her. If the title for "VK that spent her entire childhood locked away in a castle" wasn't already held by Evie, Mal would say Halimeda was the next runner up. It wasn't like the mysterious girl's nonexistent social circle had ever had the chance to overlap with Mal's but maybe that was for the best. The Rotten Four weren't known for being the most kind children on the Isle. At the end of this internal debate, Mal accepted that Halimeda deserved the benefit of the doubt. If Hadie was her brother, how bad could she be?

"Huh. Alright. Are they coming over with Harry and Gil?"

Ben nodded. "It would make it look less suspicious, wouldn't it?"

Mal almost laughed. "Less suspicious to who? Auradon or Uma? Because either way she will definitely notice her boys being used as bait." She quirked her head to stare imploringly at the young King.

Ben blinked. He hadn't considered that point of view at all while he was formulating a plan. "Okay so the plan isn't exactly subtle, but it's been weeks and we still have no idea where she's hiding in Auradon," he pointed out. "There haven't been any reported sightings in a while and I won't resort to magic to hunt her down. This is the only way we can draw her out." As much as he wished that wasn't true.

Mal shook her head and groaned. Ben watched her with amusement as she dramatically plopped down in one of the leather chairs. "You don't have to resort to magic to find her." She swung her leg over the arm and steepled her fingers with a mishievious twinkle in her eye. "I can do that for you Ben."

Well aware of readiness to use magic, Ben chuckled. "And I appreciate that, but it's not necessary. Uma has to come to us of her own volition."

The purple haired girl rolled her eyes. "We better be ready for a fight," she warned.

Ben's mouth dipped in a frown momentarily. He wanted to argue that Uma deserved the benefit of the doubt. She could have fought Mal in her dragon form, ignoring his plea for peace, but she didn't. That meant something in his eyes. Ever the optimist, he wished Mal would give her a chance. The young king was positive that Uma would eventually come around.

He offered her his hand to help her up from the plush armchair. "There won't be a fight," he told her confidently once she was on her feet. "We are giving her exactly what she wants."

Mal did not appear to be convinced. "She might not see it that way." She patted his chest playfully.

Ben's eyes softened as he looked at her and she blushed lightly at the obvious affection in his gaze. "Uma can be reasoned with, I'm sure of it. We just need to talk to her," Ben pressed.

Because that worked out so well last time, Mal thought to herself.


	9. Invitations All Around

_A few days later on the Isle of the Lost..._

Gil thought Hali was handling the effects of Cupid's arrow much better than Harry was. Then again, that was probably to be expected. Hali had already spent supposedly years hiding her budding affection for the son of Captain Hook. In sharp contrast, Harry had spent years flirting shamelessly with pretty much everyone he encountered. Gil was constantly catching the two sneaking glances when they thought the other wasn't looking. Although, if he was being honest, they had been doing that even before the arrow came into play. The tension that seemed to plague the ship ever since Uma's second letter reached them had completely been replaced with the warm glow of new romance.

Although, the recent boost in morale also might have something to do with the fact that earlier on the Lost Revenge two immaculately dressed royal messengers showed up with invitations for Harry and Gil to transfer to Auradon Prep.

With a confident step, the three of them prowled the open air market near the wharf. While people seemed somewhat surprised to see what remained of Uma's crew after a few days reprieve from their pilfering, they knew well enough to stay out of their way. Hali regally weaved in and out between the market stalls, a demigoddess among mortal men. The smitten pirate next to Gil tracked her every graceful step with an admiring eye. Gil couldn't hide the brilliant smile on his face as he in turn watched the first mate stare after Hali. Words couldn't express how relieved Gil was that there no longer seemed to be any lingering hostility between his crewmates. No longer did he have to worry that Harry would hurt himself out of grief especially since he wasn't the only one watching out for the semi-unstable boy while the captain was away.

Hali stopped to inspect a spread of dresses at a stall across the way from the two boys. Harry paused and continued to stare at the garments with great interest through a vendor's ragged tarp. Gil instantly knew that one way or another that clothing vendor was getting robbed that day.

Hali was drawn to a particular lengthy slip of a dress. Pitch black of course. The vendor eyed her wearily and flinched when they made eye contact accidentally. The corner of her matte black lip curled upwards with mirth Hali turned away to resume browsing through a rack of jackets, oblivious of her crewmates watching her from afar.

Damnation she felt good! There were actual people who cared about her! And she cared about them in return! Plus it wasn't a silly crush that glued it all together. She genuinely cared about her crewmates and trusted them unreservedly. Said trust extended to Uma especially in light of Harry and Gil's invitations to Auradon. Even though she didn't understand how or why such a thing was even possible, she instinctively knew that it was Uma's doing. The bond they now shared was positively magical and she wouldn't trade it for the world.

"Hali?"

She looked up from her admiring, startled.

"Hadie?"

The blue haired boy stood before her, sweating and a little out of breath as if he had just been running. She turned away from the vendors wares, out of her crewmates line of sight, and faced her brother fully with her hands on her hips. "Where have you been? I haven't seen you in days!"

Hadie huffed, his chest rising and falling rapidly while he caught his breath. "Listen, there's something you need to know. Something big happened." He held up his hands in a placating manner.

Her mouth dipped into a frown. "What are you talking about? What happened?"

Hadie wiped his brow nervously. His eyes shifted towards the curious vendor and the people around them giving them major side eye. "Hang on," he muttered in frustration before he snatched her hand and towed Hali away from the market. She followed him reluctantly, bemused by her brother's paranoid antics. After growing up with him, she had gotten used to Hadie's overreaction to the smallest thing so she didn't immediately pick up on the very real danger slowly encroaching on the siblings.

Finally, they stopped in an alleyway between two shops. The noise from the market was far away from them now and there wasn't a soul around that Hali could see. She raised a brow when her brother leaned close and spoke in hushed tones, "The king's men showed up at the house just now. They had invitations for of us to go to Auradon Prep."

Hali's eyes went wide. Uma's plan to break her curse worked! She was so happy and relieved she didn't know what to say to her brother who was watching her reaction searchingly. Her immediate thought was filled with elation. Hercules and Meg must've found out her curse was broken and that she could finally leave the were probably the ones who pushed for her invitation just as Uma predicted. And now she, her brother, Harry, and Gil were going to Auradon!

"This is great news! Don't look so worried little brother." She nudged Hadie's arm playfully. "We're finally getting out of this hell hole."

Hadie scowled and rubbed his arm, really making a show of how hard she had hit him to portray how annoyed he was, or so she thought. "No you don't get it!"

Hali stared at him blankly, not understanding what he was getting at, and shrugged.

"They told dad!" Hadie growled at her. "He is furious. I came here to warn you that he sent Pain and Panic after you."

Her face paled instantly, the gravity of the situation sinking in like lead through water. "Oh no."

There, at the end of the alley loomed one of Hades' dreaded demons called Panic. The creature sneered cruelly at her as their eyes locked over Hadie's shoulder. His massive deep blue wings took up the entire space between the buildings, effectively blocking the exit. In the gloom of the passageway, the demon's bluish green, leathery skin melded with his surroundings creating a lean silhouette with horns so tall they pierced the optical illusion along with his winding tail sweeping this way and that.

"RUN!" Hali cried, her hand shooting out to grip a fistful of Hadie's jacket, propelling him in the opposite direction of the demon.

Unable to tear her eyes from Panic, the siblings didn't get five feet before Hadie suddenly shouted, "Hali wait!"

Hali stumbled into her brother as he froze suddenly. Confused and alarmed, her gaze followed Hadie's down the alleyway where it came to rest on the hulking form of Pain. If she thought Panic had looked immense in the narrow passageway, his companion appeared colossal. The burly purplish red demon barely managed to squeeze into the way with his vast shoulder width and sweeping wingspan even as they were folded.

The demigoddess pivoted to look behind her at a slowly approaching Panic. Her fingers dug into the black fabric of her brother's jacket as her eyes darted back to Pain and then back to Panic once more. Her heart pounded in her chest and her feet shuffled away from the advancing Panic which only brought her and Hadie closer towards a waiting Pain. There was no escape. On the verge of hyperventilating, Hali realized they were trapped between Pain and Panic.

Hali's fingers released Hadie's jacket and clenched into fists at her sides as she faced Pain. "I'm only going to say this once: Get out of our way or else," she ground out lowly.

The demons cackled in what Hali guessed was supposed to be laughter. Pain bared row upon row of sharp teeth at her as he leaned over to get in her face. "Or else what little girl?"

Her temper flared. "Or else _this_!"

As easily as knocking over a cardboard box, Hali planted two hands on Pain's chest, _pushed_ , and the demon went flying backwards. The moment was suspended in disbelief as everyone present were forced to reconcile the marvel they had just witnessed. Hali brought the natural progression of time speeding back into place as she screamed at Hadie to run. She maneuvered around the disorientated demon sprawled on the ground rubbing his head.

"Hadie-!" her voice died in her throat as she tossed a glance behind her expecting to see her brother following her. Instead she was met with the gruesome sight of her little brother's pale neck grasped in Panic's monstrous clawed hand as he struggled for air, the tips of his shoes barely touching the ground's surface.

Hali became paralyzed, giving Pain enough time to find his feet and grab her arm. "You'll come with us now or we're gonna hurt him," the demon's voice rumbled in her ear.

Her heart lodged in her throat, Hali nodded. "Okay," she choked out. "Just let him go."

"There's my favorite not-daughter!" Hades crooned as Hali was forcefully escorted inside her childhood home.

The cramped apartment wasn't anything to write, well, home about. Most of the windows were boarded up to cover where the glass was broken. There was a kitchenette that actually served as a storage space for tortured and defaced Hercules merchandise, a musty living room with an uneven floor, a moldy bathroom, and three bedrooms. Oh yeah, and there were countless scorch marks everywhere. Between it all, Hali held no fond memories that would allow her to call the place home.

"What happened to you?" Hades inquired of Pain in confusion.

The gargantuan demon rubbed the swollen lump on the back of his head self consciously. "She's got her dad's strength, boss. Took us by surprise."

"That so?" The god's gaze flicked to Hali in mild surprise. She quickly tampered down the urge to show him up close and personal just how strong she had become.

"So it's true then," he stated more than asked. "You broke the curse. I wonder how you managed that."

Hali did not like the suggestive tone he used, but she bit her tongue and shifted her gaze towards the living room floor. Hades floated towards her, and she tried to keep still even though every cell in her body wanted to squirm away. He stopped in front of her but she refused to lift her head. She flinched when he tipped her head back with two fingers.

"You know, you remind me of your parents an awful lot. Trust me, that is not a good thing."

The muscles in her jaw tensed at his touch, remembering the heat of the flames burning her the last time he touched her.

"You thought you could just find a loophole in my deal and live happily ever after? I've got news for you kiddo; it's not that easy."

She glared daggers at him. It would be so easy for her to break out of Pain's grip and shove Hades through a wall. Probably wouldn't even break a sweat. The only reason she didn't was because she knew that Hades wasn't above hurting his own kid. A tired Hadie was struggling to stay upright in Panic's iron hold. It looked like the demon was the only thing keeping the boy from slumping over.

"How about a new deal?" Hades asked suddenly.

"Pass," she drawled with a pouty sneer.

Hades chuckled. "I don't know why that sounded like a question. That would mean you actually have a choice. You don't, by the way." He squeezed her chin, digging his claws in before letting go harshly so that he scratched her.

She blinked rapidly, her eyes watering at the sting.

Hades snapped her fingers and Panic brought Hadie forward. He pulled a face at his father who looked disparagingly at the boy like he was something unpleasant stuck to the bottom of his sandal. "Take my son to his room. He's _grounded_."

Hadie looked to Hali in fear as the demon seized the back of his jacket and hauled him down the hallway. Hali kept her eyes on the blooming bruises around the boy's slender neck. She opened her mouth to say something, anything to protest, but no words came out. Once Hadie was out of sight, she faced Hades.

"What do you want?"

The flames on his head burned a little fiercer as he grinned savagely. "Don't look so grim. Pretty girls like you should smile more."

"Just tell me what you want already!" she snapped at him, prompting Pain to jostle her violently.

"I didn't raise you to have an attitude, Halimeda, so watch your tone," the god of the underworld warned.

Hali quietly seethed.

"Don't worry, you'll like this deal," he assured her, albeit carelessly.

He settled into what was probably meant to be patio furniture but now served as Hades' stone throne taking up most of the living space. Hali had always thought it looked uncomfortable and didn't understand why the god favored it so. It was cracked and crumbling around the edges and stood out in the modern styled apartment like a sore thumb.

"I'll let you go to Auradon. Just you, though." He rested his elbow on the flat arm of the chair so he could rest his pointed chin on his fist. "When you get there, though, I need you to get something for me."

She rolled her eyes. "Let me guess: fairy godmother's wand?" Hali replied moodily.

Hades chuckled before his expression soured in the span of a millisecond. "You really think I'm that unoriginal? Come on. No. What I want… is one of Zeus' lightning bolts."

Hali let that information process for a second before she swiftly came to a certain conclusion.

"And if I don't, you're going to hurt Hadie?" she asked despite already knowing the answer.

"The little guy is my own flesh and blood. I am in my rights. Besides, he's a demigod. What lasting harm can come to him?"

She felt like she was going to be sick. "Won't it seem suspicious if he's not there when the people from Auradon come to collect us?" she argued.

Hades didn't appear phased by her point. In fact, he seemed downright _tickled_ by her response. "I highly doubt it. Hadie already turned down an invitation once. So a second time probably won't be suspicious at all."

Hali felt like she'd been suckerpunched. Had she heard him right? Was Hades telling the truth? There was no way Hadie had been invited to Auradon before. He would have told her. Her little brother didn't have secrets. At least, she didn't think he did. They may not have been as close as some siblings, but something this huge he surely wouldn't keep from her. She wanted more than anything to talk to her brother so he could tell her Hades was just trying to mess with her head by telling her lies.

"I...I don't believe you," she murmured, stunned.

The god winked at her. "Sure you don't. Either way, you're going to do what I told you to do anyway."

And of course, he was right.

It was night by the time Hali returned to the Lost Revenge, minus a demon and minus her brother. Harry was waiting on the deck when she stepped off the gangway. He was a welcome sight even though he practically radiated with anxiousness.

"Ye disappeared today. Had me worried something happened," he told her with an easy smirk but she could see how strained the expression was.

Before Harry could comment on the defeated look on her face, Gil choose that moment to exit the Captain's cabin and spotted her with a delighted grin.

"Hey Hali! Guess what Harry did for you today." He, of course was talking about the entire wardrobe of clothes the first mate had lifted from the market that morning. However, before he could go into detail, he zeroed in on the down spirited air the demigoddess had returned in. "Something wrong Hali?"

She glanced from Gil to Harry, debating with herself whether or not she should tell them the truth.

"I saw Hadie today. I got invited to Auradon Prep too," she started.

Both boys were overjoyed to hear the news and they experienced that euphoric moment of realization that they were that much closer to being reunited with their captain and her revenge. They didn't completely start celebrating on the other hand when they noticed the tears shining in Hali's eyes. Immediately on high alert, they crowded around her forming a protective barrier.

"Goddess? Tell us what's the matter," Harry pleaded, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear.

Hali nearly broke.

She clenched her fists so tight, digging her nails into her palms hard enough to draw blood. The pain helped a little, or at least enough to fight back a wave of tears that threatened to fall. Refusing to cry, she drew on her inner Uma and projected a calm composure.

"I made a deal with the devil… and I need your help."


	10. Damned If She Do, Damned If She Don't

Hali knew that it wasn't her place to come here and do this, but with the world burning down around her the ocean called out to her. After everything Uma had gifted her with- the love and devotion of her most important crew members, her curse lifted, and a chance at revenge as just a few examples- what right did Hali have to ask something of her captain? Even though she grew up in an apartment with an actual god and being a demigoddess herself, she still had reservations about standing before Uma's judgment.

The thought struck her not long after Harry and Gil had dozed off for the night, oppressive and demanding until it burrowed deep beneath her skin. Emotionally drained from the day's harrowing events, she wanted nothing more than to ignore the abrasive force knocking around in her head and go back to sleep and she knew without a doubt that no matter how many times she tossed and turned sleep was far from her grasp.

Frustrated and exhausted, she crept off the ship as quietly as she could manage, wanting to avoid waking the boys and the questions they would undeniably ask. This was something she felt she had to do solo.

A slight shiver wracked her slight frame wrapped in a too short leather jacket as she stood at the end of the dock, an inky blot against the black horizon staring out into the dark waters.

A week ago she would have thought twice about traipsing around in the middle of the night on a whim. With her curse broken and the granting of her god-like strength inherited from her father, she no longer doubted her ability to handle herself. However, standing there before the ocean alone was more intimidating than she could have predicted. Her nervousness betrayed her as her hands wrung themselves and words seemed to escape her. She wondered how Gil did it.

"I don't know why you chose me of all people," she began softly, eyes as watery as the rippling sea, "and I can't tell you how grateful I am, but I need to warn you and I hope you won't think badly of me after I do."

She paused to take a deep breath. "Hades is planning something and whatever it is, he needs my compliance. He's going to hurt my brother if I don't help him. I don't want to be the one that stands in the way of your revenge and if you tell me right now-" she bit down hard on her lip to keep the words from spilling out. The last thing she wanted was to have to walk away from Uma's crew. To say otherwise was next to impossible but she managed to choke out the words somehow as she blinked back tears. "If you tell me right now to step away...I will."

The mere notion of abandoning her brother was unthinkable. Hali could only pray that Uma would understand. She wasn't as helpless as she used to be. She could figure out a way to rescue Hadie and keep them both safe from demons Hades was sure to set after them for rest of their very long lives.

Bone tired, she fell to her knees uncaring of whether or not the mildew covered wooden planks ruined the fabric of her filched black dress. She cast her gaze downwards, heavy lidded and brimming with guilt.

"I can't thank you enough for everything you've done for me. I wish I could keep my promise to help you. Believe me, I want nothing more than to pay you back and help you achieve everything you've set out to do. I'm so sorry Uma."

The ocean waters before her may have calmed into a gentle push and pull, but the turmoil in her head was a raging monsoon that she was so wrapped up in she nearly missed the glass bottle bobbing in the water. Eventually, she did spot the message in the bottle and didn't hesitate to snatch it up from the crocodile infested waters. Their sharp teeth couldn't hurt her anymore after all.

Already imagining all the terrible threats Uma could have scrawled in a rage at having been double crossed, Hali gripped the bottle in an angry fist. With one damning swing she smashed the glass against the boards.

Among the shattered remains, Hali plucked the torn letter up with trembling fingers. She told herself that it didn't matter to her what Uma thought of her now. The captain couldn't hate her anymore than she already hated herself.

The letter's contents took a long while to finally sink in. Once the wild fury dissipated in her head, Hali held the letter to her chest and sobbed in stark relief. She couldn't believe it. Uma still wanted her in her crew. Nothing had changed. Tomorrow, Hali and the boys would go to Auradon and as the rest of Uma's plan unfolded once they were finally reunited with their captain, every single person who had ever wronged the pirate crew would get what was coming to them.

Deep down in their heart of hearts, every child on the Isle of the Lost wish to be taken away so that they may live in Auradon, not that any of them will ever admit it. And if they think they can fool themselves that they wish otherwise, they're sorely mistaken. Auradon may be a land of heroes and anyone who comes from the Isle are anything but, the Isle is and will always be a prison. So when the limo driver from Auradon caught Hali hesitating at the door, he would think it strange.

Hali could hardly explain it herself. This extravagant ride to Auradon Prep was everything her and the Sea Three had been working towards, probably for longer than any of them cared to admit.

She anxiously clutched the strap of her bag, practically bursting at the seams with the pilfered wardrobe that Harry gifted her with before their departure from the Lost Revenge. Harry and Gil were already seated inside the vehicle eyeing her with growing concern as she remained outside holding the door ajar. Unable to meet their eyes and reassure them she wasn't thinking about backing out of the plan even a little bit, she turned away from the fallen bridge to Auradon.

The sweet aroma of candy and baked goods inside the limo and the promise of freedom wasn't enough to blot out her crippling fear of whatever torture her sweet but self conscious little brother was being put through at that very moment by his own father. She could feel the driver's gaze burning into her along with the boys. The slight trembling of her hands became harder to fight the longer she gazed down the dilapidated street leading further into the Isle.

"Miss?" the driver addressed her, holding a hand out for her bag. "Are we waiting on one more?"

Her eyes flickered to him for a second. She clutched the strap of her bag tighter, her gaze trained on the uneven street behind the car. She knew she needed to hand over her bag, pretend everything was fine, and fulfill the plan. That was what she needed to do if she wanted to keep her brother safe. So why did she feel like throwing up?

Another rebellious part of her fueled by her new found anger at the world she lived in was also fully prepared to say 'to hell with it' and go get Hadie herself through brute force.

"Hali?" Gil gently called to her.

Stiffly, she shook her head at the driver, biting down hard enough on her tongue for blood to start seeping because if she didn't she was going to scream instead. The driver weighed her answer presumably against her "father's" villainous reputation for a moment before nodding, apparently satisfied.

She handed her bag over without a word. Harry and Gil continued to stare at her in concern as she settled into the limos cushions, cheeks flush with anger. The slam of the door caused both of them to flinch. Hali simply crossed her legs and folded her arms, and scowled at the other window.

When the car rolled forward, Harry slid closer to her until he was pressed snugly against her side. "Goddess, everything is going to be okay. We'll make sure it is."

"Yeah Hali! We're driving over a magic bridge right now!" Gil exclaimed gleefully from where he was pressing his face against a window.

Her lip quirked in what might have been a smile. Leave it to Gil to put a crack in her armor. She allowed herself a small fraction of giddiness at the dazzling presentation of magic.

Once, not too long ago when Evie's chosen few were leaving the Isle left and right, Hali had watched curiously in the distance as the golden, magical bridge lit up. After a long day of slaving away in Hades' Souvlaki and dodging the devil himself, she would gaze forlornly through the uneven boards of her cracked window and hadn't believed for a second that she would someday be considered worthy enough to travel along said bridge.

For the duration of the car ride Hali allowed herself to indulge in her childhood dream as the three of them pressed their faces against the windows, munching on the complementary candy. Auradon was as different from the Isle as night was from day. On the Isle there was so much rot and decay, Hali was overwhelmed by all the dazzling was so much life all around!

A couple of pretty flowers, however, had nothing on the splendid grandeur of Auradon Prep. Maleficent's now abandoned Bargain Castle was as close to an actual castle Hali had ever gotten in her life and the crumbling remains of the Evil Queen' castle was a pale shadow of what it once was. The sprawling castle grounds that the limo pulled up in front of was completely intact almost as if brand new.

Hali glanced at the boys to take in their reactions of the sight. Harry was obviously very guarded about what his first impression was and appeared decidedly unimpressed. For someone who's moods shifted as much as the ocean tide, Hali wondered just how long the young pirate would play it cool in this uncharted territory. Gil, on the other hand, could always be counted on to be an open book of expressions. She was actually relieved that she wasn't the only one excited by the new surroundings.

When the driver opened their door, Gil was the first scramble out of the car. Harry lingered for a moment so he could look at her. She tensed as their eyes locked.

Everything he had to say could be read in those piercing silver blue eyes of his. The longer she stared, the more grounded she became and reality came crashing down around her. She remembered the plan. She remembered her mission. She remembered her simmering rage.

With a wicked grin, Harry gently lifted her chin on the curve of his hook. "Chin up, goddess. It's the beginning of the end."


	11. Welcome to Auradon

A sharp pang of fear seized her the moment Harry ducked out of the limo with his usual swagger and she was struck immobile. She dug her fingers into the upholstery, desperately trying to get a grip. Uma's last letter explained how she had to pretend in front of the heroes as though she wasn't a part of her pirate crew. Gil knew that. Harry knew that. Hali knew that, except, understanding the concept and successfully executing it were two very different things.

As soon as I get out of this car, they are definitely going to see right through me and they're going to lock us up or worse. Send us back, Hali thought frantically, eyes wide and glued to the gaping door.

A rumble of thunder in the near distance shook something loose inside of her.

She closed her eyes, inhaled deeply and exhaled smoothly. "I can toadily do this," she breathed shakily to herself. The crew was counting on her. And they were also waiting for her to finally get out of the car, she reminded herself.

Waiting in front of the iconic King Beast statue was none other than King Ben himself and the Rotten Four. She felt a swift twinge of panic at the sight and just as quickly squashed it. Hiding behind a nonchalant front, she took a closer look at the ensemble. The entire band of heroes were paying all of their attention to Gil and Harry that they weren't even looking at her.

Hali almost sighed in relief.

King Ben had his hands folded neatly in front of him, his perfect teeth on display with his most winning smile. "Welcome to Auradon," he greeted with such politeness that had Hali believing he genuinely meant what he said.

The Rotten Four on the other hand, appeared less than thrilled. Standing side by side, all four villain kids had their arms crossed as a united front of undivided disapproval. However, their unfriendly demeanor was ruined by the addition of a sweater vest wearing mutt, growling lowly beside Carlos, clearly just as enthused by the pirates presence. Hali actually found their matching expressions of hostility aimed at Gil and Harry amusing.

Then she glanced back at King Ben and was immediately thrown off by the fact that he was already looking her way.

"Did Hadie not come?" he asked her.

The part of her brain that dealt with language skills spasmed and for one terrifying second Hali couldn't speak.

Taking her uncertain pause for confusion, Ben explained, "Your brother, right? I figured he would have sent word ahead that he wasn't coming. Like last time."

Her heart skipped a beat.

LIKE LAST TIME?

She was floored by this information. The earth might as well have cracked open beneath her sandals and sucked her into the underworld.

Hadie already turned down an invitation once. That was what Hades had told her to get into her head and mess with her just like he always did. She hadn't wanted to believe him, but King Ben just confirmed those venomous words to be true.

Hot tears pricked at her eyes and Hali dug her nails sharply into her palms. The pain distracted her long enough to blink back the waterworks. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted Harry and Gil shoot her a look.

She tossed her long ponytail over her shoulder and just like that, her mask was back firmly in place. "He told me to tell you thanks, but no thanks," she said flatly. She planted a hand on her hip to complete her look of boredom.

"Oh. Okay. That's perfectly alright," Ben replied, a bit taken aback by this news. He bounced back quickly though. "We're pleased to have you here regardless, Halimeda. We're pleased you all accepted the invitations in fact."

"Speak for yourself," Jay muttered none too subtly causing the other VK's to smirk.

That did it. As quickly as Hali could have predicted it Harry got that crazed look in his wide eyes that had her flashing back to the night by the pier when he beat a goblin almost to death. The Rotten Four tensed when Harry made to step forward, hook forward. It was only by the hand that Gil put on Harry's shoulder that the first mate stilled. All of a sudden, Harry grinned manically at their welcoming party.

"As if we would turn down this…" Harry trailed off as if searching for the right word but actually resulted in putting the VK's immediately on edge, "opportunity."

Another, louder, roll of thunder punctuated Harry's ominous tone, sucking the civility out of the air and replacing with it a live wire.

The dog beside Carlos whined.

"Uh, right," Ben faltered. "So why don't we just show you all to your dorms and get you situated for the night? It looks like the weather is about to turn."

Right on cue, a crack of lightning streaked across the darkening sky. Hali spared the thick cloud cover a wary glance.

"Yeah, there's no way we're letting you out of our sight so we're just gonna escort you there," Mal interjected snidely.

Ben made a noise; a none too subtle clearing of his throat. "Mal? I thought we talked about this."

"Sorry Ben, but we're going to need you to stay far away from these two while they're here," Evie replied smoothly.

"Darlings, there's no reason ye should fight over little 'ol us," Harry tittered.

Hali swore the VK's collectively rolled their eyes as if they had rehearsed such perfect unison.

"Just shut up already and grab your bags," Carlos groaned impatiently.

The group of teenagers tossed insults back and forth as the two pirates scooped up their meager possessions but Hali was a little too distracted to pay much attention because freaking King Beast Jr. was holding the strap of her bag out to her.

"I guess that leaves me to show you to where you'll be staying," he said sheepishly.

Hali had the explosive urge to knock his too-white teeth in. For the plan's sake, she ignored this urge.

"I guess so," she agreed, reluctantly taking her bag from the boy king.

The group started migrating into the nearest building to the soundtrack of the Rotten Four's bickering with the pirates. At the same time in a futile attempt, Ben tried to inform them of a list of rules or some such. Hali wasn't really interested because she was too busy trying to catch Harry and Gil's eye. They avoided her attempts, which she begrudgingly admitted, was probably for the best.

The group parted ways before she knew it. Which meant she was left with Ben awkwardly commenting on the weather to fill the silence.

Hali clenched her teeth whenever he threw out a joke to get a reaction from her. He clearly was aware of the growing tension between them and she wasn't doing much to discourage the thought.

The demigoddess kept her eyes trained ahead of her and her trap shut. Any words she wanted to share with the color clashing king beside her were best left unsaid for now. She may only wear monochromatic black, but yellow and blue ? Seriously? Wasn't Evie supposed to be a fashion expert? Hali couldn't believe that the style princess actually allowed her one true king to wear such an eyesore exclusively.

Poor fashion sense wasn't his most significant crime, by far. There was that pesky business of him deciding that not all children of the Isle of the Lost deserved a chance at the good life. And speaking of chances, this walking poster boy for supposed "goodness" had a chance to undo his father's immoral proclamations and improve the lives of innocent children and for some odd reason had yet to do so. In the last year for all the times Hades had burned her skin out of pure boredom or spite, Hali could blame Ben for the scars.

Who was he to decide that an innocent kid that was born in an actual prison solely because of crimes committed by their parents wasn't worth the benefit of the doubt? Who was he, this privileged son of a beast, to decide that she hadn't been worth the benefit of the doubt...and her brother somehow was?

"...your roommate decided not to stick around for the holidays because of that reason."

Hali missed a step and nearly face planted on the plush carpet. Nearly being the key word here because his royal highness grabbed her arm to keep her from spilling all over the floor. She did not react in what people would describe as normal.

Ben stared at her with wide eyes as she violently ripped her arm out of his grasp the moment she righted herself.

They stood completely still in the corridor for what felt like ages. Ben rubbed the back of his neck confusedly; uncertain of Hali's odd reaction. She faced away from him, tense, like a nocked bow about to snap. The young monarch had witnessed such a reaction once or twice from the new VK students where someone, a prince of princess, might have accidentally knocked into them in passing and the VK would instantly shy away as though they had been seriously injured. He had yet to figure out a proper remedy for the ensuing awkward tension. Other Auradon kids weren't quite sure what to make of it either.

"Sorry. Are you...are you alright?" he asked worriedly.

Hali clenched her fists tightly, her knuckles going white.

"I'm fine," she replied stiffly.

Ben hesitated. While Hali appeared to have brushed off what just happened, he wasn't sure if he should as well. In the end, he gestured for them to continue walking and Hali did so calmly.

Mindful of keeping his distance, Ben took the lead again. "Your uh...roommate, Kira, decided not to stay for the holiday break so you won't meet her until the new semester."

Hali zeroed in on the word "roommate" and chose to focus solely on that word. That word was important enough to literally trip her up. The complete loathing she felt towards Ben was proving far too distracting when she should be thinking about the plan. Having a goody two shoes roommate could possibly derail the entire thing.

"But on the plus side, all the students from the Isle are obviously staying here over the break so you won't be by your lonesome," Ben added cheerily.  
Won't be here alone with Gil and Harry, he means, Hali thought snidely to herself. Smart of him to invite the boys to the school when it's practically empty. Less chance of Uma hurting anybody if she takes the bait.

"Kira, huh? What's she the princess of?"

Ben grinned at her, clearly pleased she was engaging or more likely just humoring him. "Atlantis."

She hummed in acknowledgement and that was that.

They slowed to a stop in front of a door towards the very end of the hallway. Ben dug a key out from his blazer pocket which Hali promptly seized from him.

"Oh! I bet you're probably eager to settle in as soon as possible," he noted.

At this point he didn't expect a reply. He didn't even raise a brow as she threw the door open and slunk inside. Suddenly, she pivoted to face him and waited.

He bowed politely even under her dull stare.

"Let me know if there's-" he began when she slammed the door shut with a flick of her wrist- "...anything you need."

Ben eyed the rattling door as it settled into its frame. "Nice to meet you too," he told the door bemusedly.


	12. Week One

The gentle _tap...tap...tap..._ of rainwater hitting the window felt more like a hammer _**KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK**_ against Harry's glass nerves.

Days.

It had been raining non-stop. For. Days.

Normally the first mate would hardly bat an eye at such dismal weather. After all, the Isle of the Lost hadn't seen a single sunny day in all of its existence. Except, it wasn't the dismal weather that had Harry at his wits end.

One can imagine Gil's utter bafflement when Harry sprung from his perch the precise moment the burly boy opened his mouth with the final straw poised on the tip of his tongue. With a sharp "DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT TELLING ME YOU'RE BORED", the first mate felt his equally bored soul about to leave his body.

Gil snapped his mouth shut and watched warily as the other boy began pacing furiously between the door of their dorm room and the unused desk by the window.

"We've been stuck in this room since we've got here. Every single time we leave it, those _traitors_ are on us watching our every move," he ranted, gesticulating wildly with his hook. "They even took our swords!"

"At least they let you keep your hook," Gil pointed out from where he lounged on his bed.

Harry shot him a withering glare that immediately let him know he once again said the wrong thing.

"With the condition that our room is warded with magic. Magic that alerts them whenever we so much as stick a finger outside the window!"

Magic was something Harry and Gil would never get used to. When they arrived in Auradon they never would have guessed what a nuisance it would be. Of course they had predicted early on how cautious the VK's would be around them, but at the same time they had failed to imagine that they would be forced into isolation as a result.

Normally Harry relished the opportunity to mess with the Rotten Four. That was when they were on the Isle, however. Now that they were all in Auradon, their enemies were considerably more dangerous now that they had magic at their fingertips. While the boy king Ben had stressed that the use magic was strongly discouraged, the pirates knew that Mal wouldn't hesitate to hex them if she felt so inclined.

"Classes are right around the corner. They won't be able to keep an eye on us all the time then."

Harry paused. He cocked his head and stared at Gil, surprised. The other boy actually made a good point. The extremely rare occurrence had the first mate thrown.

"Truuuue..." he drawled thoughtfully as he tapped his chin with the tip of his hook. "Perhaps we can start some mischief then. Did ye pack the artifacts like I told ye?"

Gil grinned and eagerly reached for the bag tucked behind the beds headboard. Harry tugged open the lip of the bag with his hook. The boys peered inside the bag where nestled at the bottom was, at first glance, a collection of seemingly innocuous objects but were in fact an arsenal of dark artifacts teeming with black magic like a bomb just waiting to be set off.

A savage smile split across Harry's lips. "Oh this is going to be so much _fun_."

Never in her entire life did Hali ever have an entire bedroom to herself having been forced to share ever since Hadie came along and it wasn't as if their derelict apartment was considered big to begin with. Instead of reveling in the solitude, she had never felt more alone. Once or twice she caught herself looking forward to the arrival of her roommate despite the obvious drawbacks that would bring.

For the most part, she missed Harry and Gil. Sure, at every meal she was able to see them being given a wide berth from the handful of students on campus over the break, but she couldn't give up the game so easily because she wanted to keep them company. It killed her to avoid their eyes. To sit by her lonesome.

She kept entirely to herself as she idled away time by exploring the school. At first she had expected some kind of resistance even though she had yet to see any kind of security preventing her from wandering where she shouldn't. The rain prevented her from looking around the campus grounds so she stuck to the empty corridors and hallways of the castle.

If she wasn't feeling so low, she would be laughing herself silly at how easy it was to gain information from the Rotten Four. Aside from Ben occasionally greeting her in passing, no one paid her much mind. In fact, the Rotten Four were their usual loud, arrogant selves. Hali quickly found out why Harry and Gil had taken to holing up in their dorm room, which explained why her impulsive crewmates hadn't at least tried to sneak some sort of rendezvous with her.

She missed just being able to talk to them. Throwing quick glances at them during dinner was hardly a substitute. Still, as she watched them practically inhale their dinner by the lungful. As they took advantage of Auradons surplus of edible food, Hali struggled to keep a straight face at the sight.

On the other hand, she took her time with her full plate, too used to having to ration her food on the Isle. Because even though she just about grew up in a restaurant, Hades had put the fear of -well... _him_ to be exact- if she ever took food from his potential profit. With each small, calculated bite, she savored every tiny morsel. All too soon, however, Harry and Gil were getting up from their now empty plates and scrambling out of the dining hall amidst some serious side eye from the surrounding tables.

Unable to resist- it would be weird if she was the one person who didn't watch them leave- she tried to subtly catch one of the boys' eye.

Harry moved too quickly to notice and he was slipping out the doors like a titan clawing out of Tartarus. Her chest tightened as he turned the corner and even though she knew she could see him at breakfast the next morning it felt like it would be forever. At Harry's coat tails, Hali managed to catch Gil glancing at her from the corner of his eye and suddenly she found it a little easier to swallow the unfairness of their situation. Impossibly, she was able to sense he felt the same way.

Then he was gone too.

A part of her ached terribly at their absence. The mouth wateringly delicious food in front of her no longer appeared appetizing. Sighing quietly, she knew she wouldn't be able to stomach any more. As she pushed her food around her plate listlessly she tuned into the hum of conversations going on around her, specifically the Rotten Four seated behind her.

"Almost a week in and they've barely even left their room," Mal complained. Hali wondered for a moment if she had been looking for a fight when Harry and Gil first arrived.

"What are they planning?" Carlos muttered. She caught a note of paranoia in his tone.

"And why hasn't Uma come for them yet?" Evie chimed in.

Hali would be lying if she said she hadn't wondered the same. Every night since arriving in Auradon, she would toss and turn in her bed unable to sleep as she waited for some sign or signal that her captain was finally going to reveal herself. As much as she hated to, operating only on a few winks of rest, a traitorous part of her was beginning to question whether or not this entire plot was worth it.

"Maybe she's done with them," Jay suggested apathetically around a mouthful of food.

Hali's grip tightened around her fork until her knuckles turned white.

"Maybe she's chilling on a beach somewhere living the easy life," he continued. "Who knows?"

Hali hoped he choked on his next mouthful.

"No way," Mal vehemently shot him down. "That would mean we're wasting our time AND we invited our enemies to live with us."

"She must know that we've got her boys here in Auradon by now. She'll make her move soon. If she doesn't, then the pirates have to go back as soon as possible."

The words seemed to pass through one ear and out the other faster than Hali's brain could process them. _What_ had Mal just said?

"Back? To the Isle?" Evie asked.

"Where else?" Carlos scoffed.

"Sounds good to me," Jay grumbled.

Hali's vision began to blur.

"And Ben is okay with this?" Evie questioned.

"They abducted him and threatened his life. He knows how dangerous they are. He's okay with it," Mal told them.

Hali's fork clattered onto her plate and with it, she heard the other shoe drop. The Rotten Four were planning on sending the boys back to the Isle? Okay yes, she knew the only reason they were in Auradon was to be used as bait. But to throw them right back when they proved to be no longer useful to the so called "reformed villain kids" seemed more cruel than anything else.

She had to warn the boys! She had to warn Uma! She had to do _something!_ That was the entire point of her playing the role of spy. If only the captain had actually left instructions on how to contact her. The demigoddess wanted to believe that Uma knew what she was doing, but this seemed like a serious oversight.

Dinner ended and for another bleak night, Hali retreated to her room devoid of hope. As soon as her door shut, she slipped down the length of it until she sat on the floor. In the dimness of the room, streaks of lightning cast bursts of creeping shadows stretching towards her with their long limbs.

"Tell me to do captain. I need to talk to you," she pleaded softly to the empty room.

There was no reply and Hali finally admitted to herself that she had never expected to hear one.

Lulled by the sounds of storm, her eyes slid shut and eventually she drifted off there on the floor propped up against the door.

Silence.

As if the lightning storm dissipated in the blink of an eye, when Hali opened her eyes the sky was dark, at least what little of it she could see through the branches.

Wait.

Branches?

She took a startled step back as her surroundings became clearer. Somehow, she was miraculously in the forest on the edge of campus. There was probably a reasonable explanation of some sort. Probably. Hali would feel a lot better if there was.

Her sandals sunk into the muddy earth as she tried to regain her barings.

 _Okay, calm down. Just need to calm down. I need to calm down,_ she told herself frantically. _I can figure this out. One thing at a time…_

She was alone. In a forest. Not a clue how managed to sleep walk all the way out there. At least it wasn't raining anymore. There was that. It was quiet.

No. Hang on.

 _What's that sound?_ she wondered.

She paused. There, as she strained to hear, a melodious hum. And she realized she had been listening to it all this time. The sound filtered through the leaves in the trees and drifted purposefully around her. But where was that hypnotizing sound coming from? It filled her ears and pleasantly fogged her brain, convincing her she could listen to the song forever. She stumbled a few steps forward, drunk on the sound, trying to find the source. The earth gave way under her heel and she floundered unbalanced for a heart stopping moment.

The song stopped.

Arms reached out and steadied her.

"Easy there."

Hali blinked owlishly as her head cleared.

"Uma?"


	13. Captain

The most plausible explanation was that Hali was dreaming.

How could she not be? It wasn't as though she was very well experienced with the concept of dreaming either, after not being able to for a good portion of her life. She probably wouldn't be able to recognize if she was in a dream even if Morpheus himself, the Greek god of dreams, showed up and told her plainly that was she was in fact, dreaming. So you can imagine how confused she was by the night's turn of events.

"Is this real?" she found herself asking the conjured image of her captain.

There was no way Uma was really standing in front of her, touching her, looking her in the eye. She was obviously dreaming. Obviously. Her stressed out brain, influenced by her loneliness, spun a strange dream together featuring the one person who could make everything she was going through somehow worthwhile.

Dream Uma actually laughed at her. The sound was just how she remembered, because this was, of course, happening all in her head. Regardless, Hali found herself smiling.

And then Dream Uma slid one hand down Hali's arm and pinched her.

Hali recoiled out of definitely-not-a-dream Uma's reach. "Ow!"

Uma lifted an amused brow. "That answer your question?"

A million questions sprang to mind as Hali rubbed her smarting arm, her face hot with embarrassment. She could barely sort through them all with Uma standing there in the flesh, very much real and very much a distraction. So this was how she met the captain. Wait until Harry and Gil found out. They would never let her live it down.

Hali huffed in irritation, struggling to regain her composure. "How did I get out here?"

A smug grin graced the captain's lips. "I call it the Siren Call. Like it? It's new." She shrugged in an attempt to appear humble about her new magical powers which Hali knew she wasn't supposed to buy.

"And all I got was super strength," Hali tossed back playfully.

Uma nodded thoughtfully. "I wondered. Just like your brother then."

For a heart shuddering moment, Hali mistakenly thought she meant her brother Hadie. Uma must have read the confusion on her face because she clarified, "Herkie."

Hali blinked twice and her brain sprinted to catch up. Or run away from the horrific nightmares she imagined Hadie was probably suffering right now. It was both really.  
She cleared her throat. "Right. Him."

The first born (read: second born) of Hercules and Meg, popular tourney player, Herkie. Hali had seen him for the first time featured on the one channel the Isle got televising one of Auradon Prep's tourney games. She had to listen to Hades spout venomous things about this kid he had never even met before for weeks which inevitably lead to a disgusting tirade about Hercules and Meg.

Hali could list the amount of things she knew about her biological brother on one hand. She knew he was as strong as Hercules in his prime. She knew he played tourney. She knew that they were around the same age; he was about a year younger. She knew he got to grow up in Auradon and probably had an amazing childhood. And that was about it.

She wondered if he even knew she existed and that she was his sister. (If he knew his parents were liars and not heroes at all.)

"You'll probably meet him tomorrow."

Hali's eyes widened, Uma's words dragging her back into the conversation. "Tomorrow?" she asked dumbly. "What's tomorrow?"

Uma rolled her eyes at that and Hali half expected to send her away to sit in timeout. "All the princes and princesses are gonna move back into the dorms tomorrow. Hope you're ready to meet your new roommate while you're at it."

Hali lifted a shoulder noncommittally and nodded. "Right, yeah. I knew that." She cringed inwardly at how ridiculous she sounded. She dreaded what her captain must think of her. This was definitely not the first impression she wanted to portray.

She had completely forgotten about her roommate and the rest of the Auradonian's moving back onto campus. Some time during the last week Ben had mentioned it to her offhandedly at the banquet table in the dining hall but of course she had tuned him out just like every other time he bothered to speak to her. She wracked her brain for anything else she remembered about that one-sided conversation. Something about tourney? And a winter homecoming; whatever that was?

"You should know that your parents are going to be in town too."

Hali froze.

"H-how do you know that?" her voice cracked.

In a rare show of sympathy, Uma smiled softly. "I've been keeping an eye on them for a while."

The blue haired girl said it like that was supposed to make Hali feel better. It didn't. If anything her reply only prompted more questions. Questions Hali wasn't sure she had any right asking. Questions like:

"What were you doing?"

Uma stared at her in confusion. "I just told you."

Hali bit the inside of her cheek. The other girl clearly misunderstood her question. She looked at the ground, wondering if there was any way she could just take the out and leave the matter alone. The ground didn't provide any answers and Hali's thoughts floated to Harry and Gil as they were apt to do. She remembered the blank look in Harry's eyes, devoid of life, as he stared out into the ocean as he waited for his captain, not knowing if he would ever see her again. She thought of Gil asking her to have faith in Uma's plans even though he himself didn't have any reason to.

"What were you doing all this time in Auradon?" Hali found herself asking. Her eyes darted up to look Uma in the eye. "Why didn't you come home after everything happened?"

She appeared surprised by the questions but she met Hali's eye nonetheless. "I just couldn't. It's not important."

 _That...can't be all._ Hali thought desperately. _That's not an answer. Even if I might not deserve one, at the very least, Harry and Gil do deserve one._

"What is that supposed to mean?" she pressed.

She watched Uma's jaw clench in frustration, like she was physically restraining herself from forming the words.

Hali wished the conversation wasn't so painful, but it was long overdue.

"At first," Uma began, but stopped, casting her gaze into the trees.

Hali latched onto the words. "At first what?" she coaxed gently.

Her captain did not seem pleased with her careful handling. She glaring dangerously into the dark spaces beyond the tree and bared her teeth in reply. " _I was afraid to go back okay?_ "

Whatever hard answer Hali had been expecting, this was definitely not it.

Uma's expression turned to anguish. "I couldn't go back and face my crew...after failing them all over again."

Hali frowned and opened her mouth to protest, but Uma cut her off. "Believe me, I spent those first few weeks beating myself up about it several times over. I should've never gotten their hopes up... I stayed close to the water's edge and listened to Gil beg me to come back every night. All I could think about was hating myself. Hating Mal. Hating Auradon. Hating _everything_."

"So what happened?" she pleaded earnestly. Hali took a step closer. "Don't stop there."

Uma finally looked to you again. "Harry's little sister happened."

Hali's brow furrowed. "CJ? She's in Auradon?"

Uma rolled her eyes. "Yeah. She told me one day she was lurking around Dr Facilier's shop when Ben, Audrey, Mal and Evie show up. Lucky for her, Mal wished everyone was back in Auradon with a genie lamp. CJ hitched a ride with them without them knowing. She tried out a few schemes to get back at them. It didn't work out." Uma shrugged, looking away again. "She's got her own boat now, and they leave her alone."

Hali was sure Harry would be relieved to hear his little sister was doing okay, not that he would say so. She wondered if she could word to him somehow about it. "And then what happened?" she pressed.

Uma looked at her out of the corner of her eye. "She gave me the world's worst pep talk."

Hali's mouth cracked into a grin. For a short moment, Uma grinned too. The moment didn't last long enough.

"I decided to spy on Mount Olympus to see if I could learn more about my magic. And I did. But I learned so much more."

Uma turned to her fully, her eyes full of something Hali couldn't put a name to, sizing the fellow demigoddess up.

Hali felt heat prickle behind her eyes. "That's how you found out about...my parents? About me?"

Her captain nodded.

Hali bit her lip. She still had so many questions, like _Why did she decide to involve me at all in her crew? Did she feel sorry for me?_ _ **Does she need something from me?**_

"Your parents might reach out to you." Uma interrupted her careening train of thought.

Hali visibly stiffened. "Do you really think they will?"

She was suddenly struck with the seizing fear of facing her biological parents. Sure it was true all she could think about since learning who they really were to her. She still wasn't quite sure what she would do or how she would react if she did end up meeting them. Maybe she would spit in their faces and tell them to go hell and stay there this time. Or maybe she would completely break down and cry as she deeply feared she would.

"If they do," Uma took another step closer to so all Hali's vision was focused entirely on her, "I need you play along. Pretend you didn't know. Get close to them. Think you can do that?"

Hali nodded her head slowly, letting her words wash over her and soak in.

"And then what? Hades is expecting Zeus' lightning bolt. I need to save my brother. My _real_ brother."

Uma put her hands on Hali's shoulders, a comforting gesture. "And you'll get it. I promise. I'm not moving forward in my plans until the crew is safe."

Hali's eyes widened as the cold feeling of dread crept over her. "The Rotten Four are planning on sending Harry and Gil back to the Isle very soon if they don't find you," she remembered suddenly with a flair of panic.

Uma's lips pursed momentaily in distress. She bowed her head slightly to look intensely into Hali's eyes through her full lashes. "I'll deal with it. I know exactly what to do. They're not sending our boys back to that place," she told her firmly.


	14. The Next Day

Uma's Siren Call apparently had side effects, Hali discovered when she returned to her dorm room as the night sky turned to dawn's early light. She felt like she was treading water with every step that took her farther and farther away from her captain. It was exhausting.

There was little point changing for bed, her drowsy mind reasoned. She could maybe catch an hour or two of sleep if she skipped breakfast. Maybe.

Muddy sandals and all, she tumbled into bed, sprawling herself across the covers.

As soon as Hali closed her eyes, sunlight came blazing through the sheer curtains and the doorknob started rattling with a vengeance. The sudden onslaught to her senses had Hali jolting up in her bed, terrified her cover had been blown after she was caught meeting with Uma and the heroes of Auradon were coming for her.

The lock clicked and her heart instantly lodged itself in her throat.

She watched in frozen terror as the door was pushed open, but where she had been expecting the Rotten Four and King Ben in a Beastly rage, she was stunned to find a lone girl struggling with a large traveling trunk behind her. Hali blinked owlishly, still trying to process what she was actually seeing. The grogginess clouding her sleep deprived brain cleared in an instant as the pieces clicked into place.

"You're my roommate!" she blurted out, startling the girl in the doorway.

"Jiminy Christmas! You scared me!" The girl dropped the handle of her trunk to place her hands over her racing heart. She spun around to face Hali. "I thought you would be at breakfast with everybody else."

Momentarily relieved she wasn't about to be kicked out of Auradon, a heavy nervousness settled over Hali as she took in her new roommate. She was thin but muscular and very tan, making her platinum blonde stand out. What was most distinctive about her, however, were the blue markings painted under her left eye. What had Ben told her about her roommate? She was an exchange student or something?

Hali crept to her feet sheepishly.

"I didn't mean to scare you. I accidentally slept in," Hali explained awkwardly. "My name is Halimeda. I prefer Hali."

Her room mate nodded distractedly, barely paying her any mind. "Pleased to make your acquaintance. You can call me Kira," the girl tossed breezily over her shoulder as she turned back to her task.

Hali watched Kira haul her trunk into the room and plant it next to the other bed.

Kira eyed Hali's muddy sandals oddly as she straightened up. "Slept in, huh? You know, a family friend of mine named Mole if you can believe it, would say you were in the woods not far from campus. He kind of an expert in dirt."

Hali felt her heart skip a beat.

"I was jogging," she lied.

"In sandals? And a dress?" She raised a suspicious eyebrow.

Hali felt a bead of sweat collect on her forehead. "That's how we Olympians do it." Hali mentally kicked herself for coming up with such blatant lies. She had to fix this fast. "And it's not like we have access to designer athletic wear on the Isle so…" Which was in fact true.

Kira rubbed her arm, appearing embarrassed. "Oh. Sorry. I shouldn't have pried. Let me make it up to you. I can you tour? Introduce you to some people if you like?"

Hali suppressed a sigh of relief. She could not believe how easily Kira was steered away from discovering her rendezvous with a wanted fugitive. She was definitely going to have to remember that trick. "That would be great."

Kira grinned. "Excellent. Let's grab something from the kitchen first since we missed breakfast."

"Sounds like a plan."

As the two girls made their way to the kitchen, Hali tried not to think about the many times she'd been starving enough to risk stealing from Hades' Souvlaki's kitchen and how each time she'd earned the hand print shaped burns long since healed when her curse was broken. She bit her lip when was tempted to ask Kira if this was allowed for fear of sounding like she was asking a really stupid question by Auradonian standards. Something told her to get used to censoring herself because it was probably going to be happening a lot more before the plan was completed. To distract herself from her growing unease by taking in the many new faces of students returning to campus milling about.

Her black on black attire caught a few double takes on the way to the kitchen. The attention was actually kind of familiar, if the reasons were different, and she found herself slipping into old habits. The carefully cultivated mask of indifference she wore on the Isle to deter those who liked to give anyone deemed lesser a hand time now slipped on like a second skin.

Kira seemed to pick up on the air of caution the students adopted at the sight of her new room mate.

"Don't worry about them. I know what it's like to be the new girl around here. They'll warm up to you when they get the chance to know you," she reassured Hali.

Hali was not convinced. She also did not correct the other girl when she assumed Hali even cared if the entitled spawn of her enemies did warm up to her or not .

"Can't wait," she said sarcastically in reply.

They gathered a few leftover breakfast items from the kitchen without any problems and Hali felt a spike of childish glee like she was getting away with something. Out of habit, she held her food close just in case any hungry thieves got any ideas. Kira chattered aimlessly as she led them to a student lounge. Hali mostly tuned her out and Kira didn't seem too concerned about the one sidedness of the conversation. She had little doubt that if she were to slip away to eat by herself, the other girl would hardly notice.

Despite this, Hali followed the exchange student to a table in a quiet corner of the lounge. Part of Hali was grateful when Kira settled into comfortable silence while they ate and people watched. The monotonous activity allowed her mind to wander. For a brief moment Hali imagined what it might be like if circumstances were different and she could actually become real friends with Atlantean princess. The underlying guilt, however, soured the very thought. In the end, nothing else mattered except doing right by Hadie and her crew.

Hardly any of the students in the lounge paid them any mind as they went about their business...which was why Hali felt a sense of panic when a redheaded boy made a beeline right for their table as soon as they made eye contact. Her survival instincts urged her to get up and make a run for it but she couldn't help but think of how that might look. And then he was getting closer and closer and before she knew it, she was cornered! Literally cornered!

"Hey Herkie! How's it going?" Kira greeted the boy pleasantly, startling Hali out of her flight or fight stupor.

 _Wait did she say HERKIE?_

Hali eyes widened comically as the red headed boy, Herkie, grinned easily at Kira. "It's going good. Did you have a nice winter break?"

"It was great! What about you?"

Hali must have been having an out of body experience at this point. She knew she was physically sitting there, watching the two Auradonians with her own two eyes, and yet her whole body felt cold and heavy as lead. This was the first look she was getting of her brother. The sibling her parents had replaced her with.

 _Does he even know?_ she wondered.

"Same here. Couldn't wait to get back here, though. Tourney winter homecoming is right around the corner."

 _He looks so...harmless. I mean yeah he's a little buff, but in like a Gil sort of way?_ Hali mentally blanched. _Ugh! Did I just compare my biological brother to GIL? So gross. What is happening to me? I have got to get outta here._

"Oh! I almost forgot to introduce you! Herkie, this is Hali. She's a recent transfer from the Isle."

And just like that, Hali was frozen like a deer in headlights under Herkie's familiar blue eyes.

 _Damnation!_

He smiled shyly at her.

Hali's brain short circuited. Her anxiety over the entire situation built a pressure behind her eyes and it was all she could do to keep from bursting into tears.

 _This isn't happening._ She desperately tried to remember what Uma advised her to do should she run into her brother.

"Nice to meet you Hali," he said politely, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

It took her a second to respond. Her mouth felt dry and her tongue swollen. "Nice to meet you too," she replied so quietly she didn't think he'd be able to hear her.

 _Someone please save me from this torture,_ she begged the universe.

"Oh good you're both here!" A chipper voice interrupted and Hali finally found the strength to look away.

"Fairy Godmother, it's lovely to see you," Kira greeted the woman as she hurriedly approached the trio.

Fairy Godmother huffed for breath as though she had been running, but still managed to spare a smile at the exchange student. "Hello dear. I'm sorry but I need you," she pointed at Herkie, "and you," she turned her finger towards Hali, "to follow me."

 _THIS IS DEFINITELY NOT WHAT I MEANT UNIVERSE._

Hali could feel her soul leave her body as she stood up on shaking limbs to follow the older woman.

The plan was simple enough. At least it was for Gil, mostly because Harry had given him the easy part which was hardly a part at all. Actually Gil didn't even know the plan. It was safer that way. One slip up and they were both screwed.

Why take the risk at all? Because if he pulled it off it will be bloody worth it that's why. Plus, he was getting really bored waiting for Uma's next phase of plan. Without the rest of the crew to boss around, he was practically crawling out of his skin in this place. For a school, it sure felt like a prison.

"Are ye ready?" Harry asked the other boy while giving the deserted corridor a cursory glance.

He heard Gil give an noncommittal noise from where he was crouched on the floor, peering into the library from where the door was held slightly ajar. "Hang on. There's someone else in there with them."

Harry frowned. He shooed Gil out of the way so he could get a better look. Inside, the library was completely empty save for three people. The first mate was not surprised. Classes had yet to begin and everyone was fresh from vacation, which meant study areas would be pretty dead. Or at least, they would be if Mal, Ben, and some other person Harry didn't care about hadn't decided to meet there.

"What are they talking about? Can you hear them?" Gil asked curiously from where he was crowded up next to him trying to see inside.

Harry shushed him causing the boy to apologize. He strained his hearing, equally curious if he could catch a whiff of their conversation.

"...haven't seen the new student Halimeda or Herkie by any chance? My mom was looking for them," the girl that Harry didn't recognize asked of Ben and Mal.

Harry shot a glance at Gil, who looked to him at the same time upon hearing Hali's name. It looked like a million questions suddenly poised themselves on Gil's tongue but Harry gave a look that told him to keep them to himself while they listened.

"I didn't see Hali at breakfast. Normally I would say Herkie would be at the tourney field but with the rain and all," Ben trailed off.

"Sorry we couldn't be more help Jane. I'm sure you're mom will find them sooner of later. Everyone's indoors trying to avoid the rain," Mal pointed out.

An airy electronic chime sounded and when Harry looked closer he saw that it the girl's, Jane's, phone. Jane read what was the on the rectangular screen quickly before sighing with relief.

"My mom just found them both. Sorry to bother you guys."

Ben waved her off. "It was no bother."

"Well I'm off to meet Carlos and Dude. I'll see you both at lunch?" Jane smiled happily.

Harry mentally cursed. They hadn't said why they were looking for Hali at all! Was she in trouble? Did they know she was working with Uma? They didn't appear to be particularly worried.

Wait. That girl had been looking for Herkie as well who Harry knew well enough to be Hali's biological brother. He looked to Gil who had come to the same conclusion and they shared a troubled look.

"Maybe we should hold off?" Gil suggested hesitantly.

Harry's frown deepened. Normally he would be loathed to admit Gil might be right about something. It was tempting to go find out more about what was happening to Hali at that very moment. But he wanted to go through with the plan more. Who knew when they would be presented with another opportunity!

He raked a hand through his hair as he straightened up. He debated with himself the pros and cons quickly before his shook his head once. "Nope. This is happening," he declared right before he barged through the doors, Gil scrambling to follow behind.

His sudden entrance caught Jane off guard who was just about to exit the library. She withered under his kohl lined glare and squeaked as she hurriedly streaked past him and Gil. He turned back to face his mark as Mal pushed her seat back from the table she and Ben were seated at and stood.

"What do _you_ two want?" she demanded.

Harry paused and slowly placed his hook over his heart as if he was appalled by her unfriendly tone. "My, my, Mal! What a greeting! We're in civilized company, ye might want to try acting like it." He grinned widely at her frustrated growl. In that instant, the purple haired girl actually reminded him of a tiny dog getting protective of its owner in the presence of a stranger.

"It's fine," Ben assured Mal, gently placing his hand over hers. "Can I help you guys?"

He may have been smiling politely at the two pirates, but Harry could see that it was guarded.

"Actually we just had a question-" Gil started to say before Harry stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

"-About this Goodness class. What _nonsense_ is this?" Harry finished with an outraged drawl.

Mal rolled her eyes. "All Isle kids are required to take it their first semester. You probably need it more than most."

Ben appeared slightly uncomfortable by Mal's comment but didn't say anything.

Harry looked to Gil beside him, appearing dramatically aghast. "Did ye hear what she said Gil! She thinks we need an entire class to learn how to be good!"

Going by how wide Ben's eyes had widened, Harry could tell the boy was convinced this entire interaction was just shy of spiraling out of control. The first mate wanted to laugh at how easy it was to manipulate the boy king. On the other hand, however, Mal did not appear phased.

"Right, because you've been a such a model of good behavior all this time and you didn't hold Ben for ransom not too long ago," she replied dryly and removed her hand from Ben's to fold her arms across her chest.

"All in the past," Harry lied.

"Yeah, we've turned over a new leaf!" Gil added, also lying.

Ben laughed nervously. "Well that's good to hear. Right Mal? Uh, Mal?" He stared at her in concern as she rounded the table to approach the pirates, a threatening aura permeating from her slight frame.

Harry grinned lazily as he cocked his head, meeting her glinting toxic green eyes dead on. "Don't think for a second that anyone will believe that you're suddenly good now just because you're here and not there on the Isle. If you so much as _look_ at Ben wrong, I will not hesitate to turn you into the reptile you really are," she hissed, jabbing at his chest with her finger.

 _NOW! I HAVE TO DO THIS NOW! THIS IS MY CHANCE!_ Harry thought.

Deftly, he caught Mal's hand before she pulled back. She bristled at the action and her glare intensified tenfold. She furiously tugged, trying to escape his hold.

"Let go of me, right now or I swear I'll-" she started.

"-Turn him into a reptile," Gil supplied unhelpfully.

Mal shot the other boy an incredulous look before turning her attention back to Harry who laughed.

"Okay, I think that's enough!" Ben interjected, swiftly rounding the table. Harry could tell that the boy king was nearing the end of his patience but was still making an effort to be civil.

The first mate smiled deviously. He gracefully bent down and pressed a kiss to the air above her fist.

 _Even if the plan doesn't work, it was still worth it just for this moment,_ he thought gleefully, taking in the jealous waves rolling off royally pissed off boy king.

In the next instant, Harry released Mal and backed away before she punched him in the face. In fact, Ben was actually holding the seething purple haired girl back before she lunged at the pirate.

"This was a scream! We'll have to do it again sometime!" Harry called as he neared the exit. "Oh! Before I forget! Yer' getting rusty Mal! Bye!" Just as he was about to bolt through the library doors, a thoroughly confused Gil right behind him, he tossed something small and gold to Mal.

She fumbled to catch the object. Ben looked to her, puzzled. She returned the sentiment before glanced down. When she saw what Harry had thrown to her, she instantly recognized what it was: Ben's lion headed ring. The pirate must have taken it off her finger without her even noticing!

"Uh, Harry, what just happened?" Gil asked as they rushed back to their room. "Was that "the plan"?"

Harry threw his head back and laughed. "Indeed it was! And it went swimmingly!"

While Gil was thrilled to see Harry actually laughing and happy, he still felt like he was missing something. He chuckled halfheartedly. "Heh, right. Yeah I knew that. But if you wanted to maybe explain it all to me...?"

They reached their dorm room in a little time, mostly because everyone they passed gave them a wide berth. Now safely sequestered in their room, Harry rounded on the other boy. He grinned mischievously, and Gil felt his insides melt a little. He didn't realize how much he had missed that look on the first mate's face since they arrived in Auradon.

"Oh Gilly boy, whatever will I do with ye?" Harry teased, sauntering closer.

As Gil inched backwards, a swarm of butterflies fluttered in Gil's stomach when he realized Harry was advancing towards him and soon enough, he felt the door at his back. "Um," he mumbled awkwardly when Harry at last stood before him.

Harry placed his hand and hook on either side of Gil's head, effectively caging him. "Sweet Gil, I'll spell it out for ye."

Gil was only half listening though as he was far too distracted with how close Harry was standing.

"See, ye probably didn't notice, but I took that gaudy piece of jewelry that King Ben gave to Mal. Right, Gil?" Harry peered into the boy's dazed eyes.

It beat passed for Gil to realize he was supposed to respond. "Right. Yeah. That happened. Uh, and then what happened?" He swallowed against the dryness of his throat.

" _Then_ I placed a little cursed oil from a certain infamously cursed rose on said piece of jewelry."

 _Damnation he has such pretty eyes,_ Gil thought distractedly. "Uh, huh. And that means...uh, what exactly?"

At this point in the explanation, Harry was practically vibrating with barely repressed glee. " _ **It means**_ _...King Ben is going to earn the name_ _ **"Beast"**_ _in good time_."


	15. Family Reunion

_Okay. No need to panic,_ Hali thought to herself. _You're just sitting in the Dean, er, Principal ...Fairy Godmother's office._

 _With ...my ...parents. Whom I've never met._

 _Oh, yeah, and my brother._

 _Riiiiight._

 _This is happening._

She pinched herself just to be sure.

Nope. If this was a nightmare, she was definitely awake and living it.

She knew she was caught between a rock and a hard place; namely Megara and Herkie where her too small chair was crammed between theirs. She tried to make herself as small as possible, but no matter how much she fidgeted, she knew she was trapped. In any other situation, she would be dying of laughter at the sight of the all mighty Hercules squeezed into such a tiny chair.

 _Is it just me or are the walls closing in? The air seems a little thin too. Maybe I should get up and make a run for it. Yeah! I'm going to run away now!_ She started inching to the edge of her seat.

"Okay, now that we're all here," Fairy Godmother trilled as she settled into her chair behind the desk, "we can get started."

"Started with what exactly?" Hali asked abruptly.

Everyone turned to look at her with varying degrees of unease.

"Well, Halimeda, Megara and Hercules who are very generously sponsoring you while you're at Auradon Prep., had a conversation with me and we thought it might be a good idea if we hash out any animosity between you now to hopefully avoid any messy conflicts in the future," Fairy Godmother explained.

Hali let that sink in.

So ...her cover was still safe and she was not, repeat, not getting kicked out of Auradon. Instead, they wanted her to ...she actually wasn't sure what they wanted from her. From what she could surmise, they were all supposed to have one heartfelt conversation where she spills her guts and all the bad blood between their families would magically be resolved.

Amusement bubbled up in her chest and she not-so-subtly stifled a laugh . Once again, she earned another round of strange looks.

 _Hold on. They were looking at_ _ **her**_ _strangely? Was she the only one who thought the entire reason they were meeting was utterly ridiculous?_

She frowned. "You can't be serious?"

A beat passed where everyone appeared speechless.

"Has this _ever_ worked for you guys? Don't tell me you were hoping that I'd be the first," Hali scoffed. "Wow..."

She chuckled and rolled her eyes until her gaze caught with Megara's and for a split second, she couldn't look away. From the moment Hali had entered Fairy Godmother's office, she had painstakingly avoided looking at Hercules and Megara or in their general direction. Now, she couldn't look away. This woman, a virtual stranger, was her mom. There was a sadness in Megara's eyes, and yet alongside it was endless wonder. A lump formed in Hali's throat when she noticed Megara's lips begin to quiver and Hali forced herself to look away. She missed the way Hercules squeezed his wife's hand comfortingly.

Having witnessed the exchange of glances, Fairy Godmother wasn't quite sure how to interpret moment, though she knew her next words would hopefully set a lighter tone. "We just want to make sure you know that this is a safe environment and we want your stay at Auradon Prep to be a positive experience," Fairy Godmother replied sincerely.

Hali crossed her arms defiantly. "I get it. Your message has been received. Can I go now?"

Feathers ruffled at Hali's clipped response, Fairy Godmother made an indigent noise. "Actually, there is one more thing."

Hali internally groaned. _Damnation! I have got to get out of here! Give me a break lady!_

"Hercules and Megara have recommended their son, Herkie, to be your peer mentor."

 _Oh Hells no!_

"Uh, what?"

Herkie shifted around in his chair to face her and Hali had to refrain from physically recoiling.

"A peer mentor is basically someone who can show you the ropes around the school. If you need anything, have any questions, I'm your guy." He beamed widely at her.

"Uh huh." She narrowed her eyes and squinted at him. "So are we done here?" She pivoted to face Fairy Godmother.

Fairy Godmother blinked, slightly taken aback by the young woman's abrasive attitude. She would probably never get used to the lack of manners most Isle Kids seemed to exhibit. Then again, dealing with teenage attitude was well within her job description.

"Yes, we are done here," Fairy Godmother stated flatly.

"Excellent!" Hali sprang from her seat and awkwardly skirted past the strangers that are her parents as she made a dash for the door.

She didn't realize there were streaks of tears running down her face until she was halfway to the dorms. Reaching up with a trembling hand, she dragged her fingers along her cheek and immediately recognizing that she was crying in public she ducked her head. Her heart started pounding as she frantically ducked into an empty classroom, frantic that someone might have seen her falling to pieces.

Just when she was certain she was safe from prying eyes in the dimly lit room and she let out a sigh of relief, someone came crashing into her from behind. Hali stumbled forward a few steps, her heart lodging in her throat.

"Whoops! Sorry, Sorry! Are you okay?"

 _Herkie!_

Hali spun around to face him, forgetting her face was a mess of tears and probably eyeliner as well.

Herkie blanched. "Oh gosh, I didn't hit you that hard, did I? I have a hard time controlling it. God-like strength, 'ya know..." he trailed off, appearing bashful.

She avoided looking in his general direction while she roughly wiped her stained cheeks. "Were you...were you _following_ me or something?"

He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "It sounds sinister when you say it that way. I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

She rolled her eyes. "I don't need a peer mentor so I suggest you leave me alone." Still, she refused to look at him as she crossed her arms defiantly.

Everything about the situation was telling Herkie to give up and leave. She clearly didn't want anything to do with him right now. As far as she knew, he was the son of her "father's" greatest foe. She had absolutely no reason to trust him.

As more and more Isle Kid's moved over to Auradon, Herkie had paid special attention to how each reacted to meeting their evil parent's enemies. Each child had revealed in some capacity how backwards their upbringing had been, how their parents had practically brain washed them to hate the offspring of their enemies. He was terrified Hali would be the same. And it was the reason his gut was arguing fiercely with the rational voice in his head that sounded suspiciously like his Uncle Phil's voice. His impulsive gut was winning.

"What happened back there wasn't exactly what it seemed."

Hali finally spared him an annoyed glance. "What is that supposed to mean?"

He began to fidget apprehensively, knowing he was wading into trouble. "There's something you don't know. And if I told you...I'm not sure you would believe me."

She was dumbstruck upon hearing his confession. _He's not talking about what I think he's talking about, is he?_ Asking him directly seemed impossible.

"I can't tell if you're trying to make fun of me or not. I should just go." She uncrossed her arms and made to leave the classroom.

Panicking, Herkie grabbed her wrist to stop her before she reached the door. "Wait! I'm not trying to trick you or make fun of you, _I swear_."

She glared daggers at where his hand clutched her wrist. He quickly apologized and let go. "This is important. You deserve to know."

Hali clenched her fists, becoming more and more unnerved about where this conversation was headed.

This was a secret that was unspeakable. After all, her own grandfather had to tell her in a freaking dream.

She wasn't even sure if she should still run away. Part of her felt like she deserved to hear it spoken out loud, in person by someone in her family and Herkie was right there with the words practically spilling out of him.

Biting her lip, she thought of the consequences. Once the secret was out, there was no taking it back. No going back. Everything between her and her family would change forever.

And the plan! What would this mean for Uma's plan? If she stayed to hear Herkie out, acknowledge her blood relatives, she would be betraying her _real_ family. The crew.

Her eyes welled up with tears. "Save it. I don't want to know whatever it is you want to tell me and if you try to stop me again, I'll break every bone in your hand," she vowed.

She stormed out of the classroom while Herkie was too stunned to respond.

A lump of emotion had lodged itself in her throat and she felt like she couldn't breath the entire walk to the dorms. She couldn't hear anything above the sound of blood rushing in her ears except for the roll of thunder as the storm outside picked up. Maybe she was knocking too loudly on the door, because Harry threw it open violently fast. She watched his face journey from pissed off to surprised to concerned. His lips were moving as he pulled her into the room quickly and shut the door, but she didn't hear what he said.

The next thing she knew, she was being held delicately between Harry and Gil and she could finally breathe. She listened to Harry threaten whoever had made her cry as he brushed away her tears and Gil asked her what was wrong, why had she risked the plan by coming to them.

"I met them. My parents. My brother. Except I didn't. Not really," she wept.

The two pirates went quiet at that. They briefly shared a worried look behind Hali's back.

"It's going to be fine, love," Harry assured her. Gil rubbed her back soothingly.

And that's how the three of them ended falling asleep together in a nest of pillows and blankets on Harry's bed.

Hercules peered out the limo's windows at the raging storm in the sky tensely. He knew it was no ordinary storm that turned the sky nearly black save for the electric flashes lighting up the clouds. It was obviously his father's doing and Hercules didn't have to guess what had made the god so worked up.

He looked to his wife as the limo drove along the short path to Belle and Beast's castle where they were staying as guests for the time being. She was staring blankly into space, her expression forlorn. He took her hand and held it.

"I know it's not the meeting we always envisioned," he started softly. He really didn't know what to say from there. That had pretty much summed up what happened. He sighed.

Meg squeezed his hand. He smiled weakly at her and tried again. "But we saw her. We actually _saw_. And heard her voice," he marveled.

Meg met his gaze and couldn't help but smile. "She has your eyes."

He beamed at her. "And she's got your hair."

Her smile faltered some. "I wish it wasn't like this. She's all grown up now."

Hercules pressed a kiss to her temple. "She's still young. We've got the rest of her life. We just have to take it one day at a time."

"I guess you're right." But she wasn't happy about it. Not by a long shot. Sitting there in the glow of finally being reunited with her first child, she cursed Hades all the way to the pits of Tartarus.

Suddenly a trill sounded in the space of the limo which Meg recognized as an incoming caller. She pulled out her phone and seeing that it was her son calling, she picked up immediately. Knots began to form in her stomach.

"Herkie? Is something wrong?" she asked.

Hercules frowned, watching her intently as the car at last pulled up to the castle.

 _"Mom, I did something you told me not to."_

Normally, Meg wouldn't have batted an eye at that statement, but there was something in her son's voice. Something that told her this was serious.

"Herkie, tell me what's wrong."

 _"I followed Halimeda and we talked a little. I know it's only been about a week since you told me the truth about her and since you told me never to tell_ her _, but I tried to anyway. She needs to know, mom."_

"Herkie-" the door beside her opened suddenly, cutting her off.

Herkie continued while she paused. _"She left before I did tell her, though. So you don't have to worry about it, I guess. But there's something else."_

A howling wind swallowed whatever he said next. Meg frowned deeply as the rain began to soak her side of the limo despite the umbrella the driver held aloft her door. She held up a finger to the driver holding her door open in a 'one moment' gesture and motioned to her phone. He dutifully, and unhappily, closed the door.

"What's going on?" Hercules asked curiously.

Meg ignored him, not entirely sure herself. "Herkie what did you just say?"

 _"I said, I think she already knows, mom. I think she already knows everything."_


	16. Together Again

What little daylight there was, waned and Gil woke up to a dark room.

Roused from slumber by the growling of his stomach, he knew instantly that he'd missed dinner. Like every kid moved from the Isle, Gil had grown increasingly spoiled by the expansive buffet of food and every square meal of the day that Auradon Prep had to offer. Gil, of course, had taken it a step further. Since Harry had started to skip meals in attempt to avoid the Rotten Four, Gil had started smuggling extra food from the dining hall when they did venture out of their dorm room in case of emergencies. And midnight snacking.

Gil deemed this a perfect time to break into the stash of food. He tried to withdraw from Hali's embrace without jostling her, and in turn Harry, too much as he got to his feet. Grabbing an armful of snack food and fruit, he made his way back to his crew and settled at the edge of their blanket and pillow nest. As he ate, he watched over the others.

Harry had his arms wrapped around Hali's waist and his face burrowed between her shoulder blades as she slept peacefully on her side. Gil couldn't decide who was more adorable. What he wouldn't do for them each.

Maybe it was from how loud he was munching on a crisp apple, but Hali's eyes flickered open.

"Gil?" she mumbled. Untangling herself from Harry's embrace, she rubbed the sleep from her eyes as Gil grinned at her.

"Hey there sleeping beauty."

"Mmm, hope ye are referring to me," Harry drawled playfully.

He yawned as he stretched out like a lazy cat from his place on the floor. Gil stared at the pale span of skin of Harry's navel was exposed as his shirt lifted from the movement. He licked his lips, tasting the apple's juices before taking another bite.

Hali joined Gil in picking through the night's offerings and decided on a plum. She sat back to enjoy the view as Harry slumped back limblessly into the nest of pillows. She couldn't remember the last time she felt this happy. _Maybe I should have sought the boys out sooner,_ she thought amusedly. Even though they hadn't been separated for that long, she had missed being around them dearly. There was so much she wanted to talk about that she didn't know where to start. A thought occurred to her suddenly, and she knew exactly where to start.

"I met Uma the other night," she remarked between bites.

A beat passed.

Then, Gil rounded on her in astonishment and Harry sprang up as though he'd been electrocuted.

"WHAT?" they chorused.

Harry crawled over to her and placed his trembling hand on Hali's cheek. Their eyes were level and Hali could see the blossoming hope of the pirate's eyes. Some might have mistaken it as mania, but Hali knew him better than that.

"Is she okay?" Harry inquired.

"What did she say?" Gil asked.

Hali nuzzled Harry's hand. "She's better now that her crew is away from the Isle."

She turned to Gil. "She said a few things. She told me why she hid in Auradon." She saw the flare of pain flash across his face and he opened his mouth to ask a loaded question, but Hali cut him off before he could take a breath. "But I think it's best that it comes from her."

She glanced at Harry, who's eyes had turned watery. "She's got magic now. She can lure a person right to her with a song. That's how I found her. She told me she ran into your sister. That CJ helped her."

Harry wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, laughing. "So that's where that little brat has been this whole time."

Hali hummed, fighting a grin. She looked at Gil who smiling at her, waiting for her to continue.

"She instructed me to get close to my" she hesitated to say the word "… my parents. Earn their trust."

She bit her lip and cast her gaze downwards.

"Oh Hali," Gil murmured, taking her hands in his. "Your parents. You met them earlier, didn't you?"

She worried her bottom lip and nodded, keeping her eyes down.

"Do ye want to talk about it, goddess?" Harry asked softly, playing with the end of her ponytail.

She sighed heavily and then shook her head no. "There's nothing to talk about. I got called to Fairy Godmother's office and they were there. Herkie too. He's supposed to be my peer mentor, whatever that is, and that was that."

"I already don't like them," Harry declared. Gil echoed the sentiment.

Hali laughed at that. "You know the crazy thing is; I think Herkie wanted to tell me the truth. I ran away before he could, though. I don't know. Maybe I should have let him." She sighed, her expression souring.

Harry understood a little of what she was going through. The desire to follow Uma's lead warred with need to protect oneself. "Ye don't have to do this right away. Ye could work up to it."

She growled, frustrated. "I don't have time! The longer it takes to get the lightning bolt, the longer Hadie is in danger."

She felt like she was going around in circles and it was getting her nowhere. "First thing tomorrow, I'm going to ask Herkie to tell me the truth. And then I'll go from there."

"That's our goddess!" Gil cheered.

Harry grinned at Hali, pale blue eyes seductively half lidded. She blushed as she sheepishly returned his grin. She liked this. Just being around the boys. And hopefully someday soon, their Captain could join them again.

"Come on, loves, let's get some more sleep," Harry yawned, already settling back down into their nest.

Gil set aside the remaining food before hunkering down beside the first mate. Hali happily followed, resting her head on Gil's defined chest. The muscle bound boy found himself between Hali and Harry, who pressed his face into the crook of Gil's neck. He could die happy like this.

"Our revenge is going to be so _sweet_ ," Harry snickered, his voice slightly muffled.

Gil couldn't help but agree.

Morning arrived before any of the crew were even remotely ready.

In hindsight, Hali should have seen this coming.

What could have been a lovely morning sleeping in with the crew, was ruined by the banging on the door.

"I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE 'YA STINKIN' PIRATES!"

The three teenagers jolted awake. They each exchanged a look of horror. Harry hissed, "Hide, Hali!" as he scrambled to his feet.

Hali frantically searched for the least likely place that would be searched because she knew that wouldn't be afforded any right to privacy. Gil wrung his hands nervously as he stood by the door, waiting for Harry's signal to open it.

The second mate wasted no time. He procured the bag of cursed items from behind Gil's bed and shoved it into Hali's arms as he herded her along the wall beside the bedroom door. Hali stared at him in confusion as he gave Gil the all clear to open the door.

Hali felt her heart stop as the door swung open next to her and she squeezed her eyes shut as if that would hide her. For a nerve wrecking second, she thought it was over. The leaders of Auradon would discover her involvement with enemies of the crown and they would all be carted off to the Isle. Forever.

"Did I wake you or something? It's already past breakfast," Hali recognized Mal's condescending voice.  
She tentatively opened her eyes and stared at the back of the bedroom door in front of her face. Suddenly, Harry's choice of hiding place made sense. With the bedroom door open, she was completely hidden from sight.  
"Did we? Miss breakfast?" Gil wondered aloud. "Already?"

"Must have slept right through it," Harry mused.

"Cut the crap. I know what you two did," Mal growled.

"Oh?" Harry sounded amused. "And what is it ye think we did?"

"I know you did something to Ben yesterday."

"Like what exactly?" Gil asked curiously.

"Something!" she snapped at the two boys. "Ben was seen sleepwalking last night around campus. Which is something he's never done before."

"And naturally you accuse us of having something to do with it," Harry drawled.

"He was found this morning in the rain with claw marks on his clothes!" Mal snapped.

Hali could practically hear Mal grinding her teeth in frustration. "I may not have any proof, but I _know_ you're up to _something_.

"If that were true-" Harry started to say before he was interrupted by Gil saying "Which it's not", though he quickly shut up after earning what Hali guessed to be a scathing glare from the first mate. "Then ye would have brought guards with ye. But ye didn't. Which means ye don't have anything on us."

Hali could practically _feel_ Mal seething on the other side of the door. "If anything else happens to Ben, I will end both of you," she warned them darkly before she stormed off.

Harry slammed the bedroom door closed before he turned to Hali. She met his measured gaze with one of her own.

"Mind telling me what that was all about?" she inquired.

Gil fretted, looking between the first mate and the demigoddess anxiously. Neither teenager appeared to budge, waiting for the other to drop the subject. If this wouldn't blow back on him as well, Gil would have found the tension thrilling.

He stepped closer to Hali, making to pull the bag from her arms.

She immediately side stepped him. "I deserve to know what's going on you guys. Is Mal, as much as I hate saying it, right? Did you do something to Ben?"

Gil shot a desperate look at Harry. "Come on Harry," he whined, "can't we tell Hali? It's _Hali_."

Harry seemed to contemplate this, fully aware of the expectant expression across Hali's face. He seemed to come to an accord with himself and he nodded his permission. Gil gave a delighted hoot before launching into a convoluted explanation of Harry's plan. At the end, Hali wasn't certain Gil entirely understood Harry's plan at all.

"Right. Okay. I think I got the gist of that." Hali bit her lip, appearing thoughtful. "While we wait on Uma's part in the plan, you two plan to sabotage the good kids of Auradon Prep in the meantime with cursed objects you brought from the Isle."

Both the boy's eyes sparkled with mischief at the thought of all the chaos to come.

"Only one problem there."

Harry cocked his head and Gill's mouth dipped into a frown.

Hali shifted where she stood, clutching the bag in her arms ever so tightly.

"I caught the Rotten Four talk about how they were planning to send you back to the Isle if Uma doesn't make a move soon."

She let the boys chew on that, watching their expressions morph into carefully concealed worry.

"If they catch you cursing anybody they won't hesitate to kick you out."

The cold look in Harry's blue gray eyes softened some. He stepped towards her, wrapped his arms around her, and leaned down to rest his head on her shoulder.

"They don't need a reason to toss us back onto that garbage heap and ye know it," he murmured, his warm breath tickling the side of her neck.

Hali closed her eyes and grimaced at his words. Her fingers dug painfully into the fabric of the bag. Gil saw this of course and the next thing Hali knew, she was also wrapped in his strong arms.

"I'm going to help you boys, whether you want me to or not," she declared as Gil pressed his forehead to the side of her own.

"These princes and princesses will never see it coming."


End file.
